HOW CHANGING YOUR ATTITUDE CHANGES YOUR REALITY

Let’s talk about the internal aspect of making positive changes to your current reality. I believe that the foundation of a successful life has a lot more to do with attitude than it does with aptitude, but I’m not the only one.

Surveys, studies and research consistently indicate that 85% of success in almost any endeavor will depend on attitude and only about 15% on aptitude. Yet, in most educational settings the emphasis is exactly the opposite. In fact, attitude is rarely discussed.

Adding attitude to your knowledge and skill

Regardless of what you do for a career, technical knowledge and skills usually play an important role. But is knowledge and skill all it takes to succeed? In this highly competitive world there are lots of people with knowledge and skill. Obviously, success requires that you know what you are doing and that you can deliver what you promise.

In addition to knowledge and skill, what else is required for success? We have already established that attitude plays a huge role, but what does that really mean in practical terms? More specifically, how does changing our attitude translate into success?

Mastering your dominant mental disposition

Admittedly, this concept that changing your attitude changes your reality can seem a bit abstract. At least until we understand that our dominant mental disposition is the element that brings together “who you are” with “what you do.” So, even though attitude may seem less tangible than other aspects of building a successful life or career, it’s still one of the most powerful.

For clarity, let’s start by breaking attitude down into its four major components:

1.Expectations
2.Adaptability
3.Confidence
4. Appreciation

Whether you recognize it or not, these four components of attitude form the foundation for your personal and professional success. Trying to make positive changes in your reality without giving attention to these areas will only serve to provide you with a lot of frustration and very limited results. So, let’s take a closer look!

Expectations

Do you expect to succeed or to fail? Do you expect to find love and happiness or something less? Your expectations have a lot to do with what you think you do or do not deserve because they are a reflection of your feelings of self worth. As such, expectations influence how you interact with the people around you as well as their perception of you. In response, your world will find a way to provide evidence that your assessment of your own worth is accurate.

If you think that you are unworthy of love it will lower you expectations. In response, you will attract, and be attracted to, partners who are incapable of showing you love. If you feel like you are not deserving of success you will expect only mediocre results. Because of your low expectations you will make choices that limit your ability to succeed.

Of course, if you have a high sense of self worth, your expectations and your results will likely be much higher. In both of these cases, your results will serve to reinforce your expectations and your beliefs about what you think you deserve.

Adaptability

The ability to adapt to changing circumstances while maintaining a positive, optimistic outlook is a huge part of the formula. Fact: sooner or later everything in life changes! If we struggle with or constantly resist change, we will always be behind the curve trying to regain something that doesn’t exist anymore.

Perspective has a lot to do with our ability to adapt. If your perception is that you like your life just the way it is and you don’t want anything to change, then change represents pain and you will try to avoid it. On the other hand, if you view your life as an exciting, ever-changing adventure, you’ll not only expect change, you will actually look forward to it.

Confidence

A reasonable degree of self-confidence gives you a distinct edge in every area of life. If you lack confidence in yourself, it becomes difficult for others to put confidence in you. This applies equally to business and personal relationships. Confidence, or the lack of it, is something that others can easily sense because it will manifest in everything you do and say.

Your outlook is heavily influenced by your degree of self-confidence and mastering the inner game of attitude is impossible unless this essential quality is developed. As long as it is tempered by reasonableness, a “can do” attitude is what opens the doors of opportunity and gives you the courage to walk through them.

Appreciation

Like confidence, appreciation is a magnetic quality. In fact, no other quality touches people in the same way because everyone wants to feel appreciated. If your attitude communicates appreciation and gratitude you will be able to build rapport with almost anyone.

It’s important that your appreciation be sincere if you want it to permeate your disposition in a meaningful way. Appreciation is not about flattery, it is a reflection of where you are coming from. Cultivating an appreciative point of view is a vital step in using attitude to make positive changes in your reality. Never underestimate the power of appreciation!

Attitude is everything

For most of us, taking in new knowledge and learning new skills is an ongoing part of life. Now we see that a truly successful life requires that we pay special attention to the areas that can have the greatest positive impact on our quality of life and degree of overall success.

Attitude is one of the most important elements for bringing together “who you are” with “what you do.” It may not be everything, but it’s important enough that nothing else compares to it. Once you see firsthand how changing your attitude changes your reality, your life will be forever transformed.