How do you see the glass? Half full or half empty?
What is your attitude about this glass?
I have to be honest; I have always been a half empty guy. Always. My mom tells stories of when I was a toddler; I was a half empty guy! If I had a box of 21 crayons and 1 broke, I was devastated! What about the other 20 crayons in that box?! I also believe that what happens to us in life along the way has an effect on our attitude and outlook as far as being pessimistic or optimistic. I think of myself more as a realist than a pessimist. Life is ugly sometimes, it’s not always a bowl full of cherries!
I constantly have to work on having a positive ATTITUDE as a leader. It’s a challenge for people like me who are naturally pessimistic. Once that attitude gets negative as a leader, it can really negatively impact the whole team you are leading.
I really love Coach Holtz quotes, and here is another great one:
How well are you doing your job as a leader? You are capable, you are motivated, is your attitude good?
Pastor Chuck Swindoll said this about attitude – “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.”
“It is more important than appearances, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company. . a church. . . a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past; we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude.”
“ I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you . . . we are in charge of our attitudes.” – Pastor Chuck Swindoll
As a leader, your attitude doesn’t always have to be good, it has to be right!
Sometimes a bad attitude is right for the certain situations; sometimes you need to give your people what they NEED to hear and not what they WANT to hear. That is a tough thing about leadership. You aren’t always the most popular kid in the room. But your attitude delivering the news about the bad stock dividends or phones call home about little Johnny’s classroom behavior is what will create followers and enhance your lifestyle of leadership.