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Does a positive attitude really make a difference?

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 10:12 pm

International speaker and author of ‘Attitude, Aptitude, Altitude – Choose Your ‘Tude!’, Robyn Simpson claims choosing a positive attitude will improve your life. How much does your attitude reall affect your results?

We all have attitudes – good or bad. But how much does your attitude really have to do with whether you are successful or not? Robyn Simpson, author, international speaker, high performance attitude coach and inspirer is launching a highly motivational and inspirational book ‘Attitude, Aptitude, Altitude – Choose Your ‘Tude!’ to help people create better results in their work and life.

With the current economic climate, rising unemployment and global warming, all of these things impact us and are out of our control. So how does our attitude impact on us?

“We live in a world where outside influences can be beyond our control, however our responses to those things can make a huge difference to our general well being and happiness,” say Ms Simpson. “There are many things we do have control over, and it is our choice to take personal responsibility for those, although sometimes it feels easier to go with the flow. Successful people choose to take responsibility and make their own decisions rather than be at the effect of others.”

When asked; “If a person is made redundant, if they choose a positive attitude everything will be alright?” Ms Simpson responded “Some people are made redundant and choose to see it as a personal attack and allow their self esteem to be damaged, which can cause a downward spiral of depression. Others are made redundant and decide they will find another job and those who do so with a positive attitude are more likely to get re-employed. A small percentage of people who get made redundant see it as an opportunity to try something else like traveling, a new career or studying to up-skill. How you see this situation depends on your attitude towards it.”

“I would love to see attitudes and self responsibility was taught in schools. It would make such a difference to our communities,” states Ms Simpson. “My message is not new, however I see so many people missing it I decided to write this book to help people understand some things are really simple to change, and can make the difference between living an unhappy life or a happy one.”

More than simply a book, the 17 chapters of inspiring and practical lessons help every day people excel in everything they do. There is a 15-step ‘Structure of Goals’ process that provides readers with a logical and simple process to follow. Combined with a practical Work Book, readers learn valuable life enhancing habits that will serve them well in work and in life. No matter what the goal is, if every step of the 15-step Structure of Goals process is completed, you will progress and reach your goal. Having the right attitude is closely linked to the ability to achieve goals. Achieving goals builds self-esteem, which assists people to choose great attitudes.

Plus this book is full of resources for readers including inspirational downloads, information, websites and much more, to help continue the learning.

‘Attitude, Aptitude, Altitude – Choose Your ‘Tude!’ is attracting a lot of positive media attention. It seems the attitudes of people are changing. Those who choose great attitudes believe they can be successful and achieve great things. Ms Simpsons goal is to reach over 10 million people worldwide with this message and she is well on her way to achieving that. As she says herself, if a girl from a small town called Paekakariki can do it with very few resources – anyone can.

The book is available from www.choosethetude.com

Robyn Simpson, Entrepreneur, Inspirer, Author & International Mentor.

Inspirational / Motivational / Coaching Books
www.choosethetude.com

Article Source: Does a positive attitude really make a difference?

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Your Personal Identity: How Do You Define Yourself?

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 9:04 pm

In 2004, I lost my $3 million business in a vindictive lawsuit that also led to me losing my marriage and all of my savings. While I could easily give up and crawl into a corner somewhere, how I choose to frame these events is entirely up to me. While I can’t control what other people do, I can control how I choose to frame or view what is happening.

People marveled at my positive attitude in losing everything. My response is, “What’s the alternative?” The way I choose to frame these events is that losing everything is a fascinating process. I’m not trying to say I didn’t have stress. No way. Pepto Bismol was always within arms reach. But I found it amazing how people respond when you go from being the top guy to having all of your resources taken from you. In the majority of the cases, the friends and family members who I would have bet money would try to help out completely abandoned me while people I hardly knew stepped up big time.

Let me tell you. Having to empty your savings, your children’s college funds and going from debt free to $750,000 in debt in three years is a very painful experience. However, I refuse to allow those events to define me anymore than I would allow my successes to define me. All that matters is how I respond to these events. All I can control is my patterns of thought and behavior.

The first 20-years of my training, the martial arts defined who I was. I used the martial arts to transform myself from chubby teenager to athletic “karate jock.” Martial arts was virtually all I talked about. All my friends were martial artists. Even if I went to a volleyball tournament, it was usually with a bunch of black belts. It wasn’t until I launched the National Association of Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA) in 1993 that I began to realize that, while martial arts helped me to reinvent myself identity, the job was only half-done. I had to reintegrate my martial arts with my inner self so that martial arts became a facet of who I was, not the entire definition.

When good or bad things happen to you it’s important that you not let them define you. Being a champion black belt on TV was my identity for years. If you are allowing your success to be your identity, then your hiding your real self. Think about film stars who choose not to live in Hollywood. They view their stardom as an extension of who they are instead of the definition of their identity. Sandra Bullock lives in Texas and it’s pretty clear when you see her in interviews that she views acting as a high paying job she enjoys but also that there is much more to her than just acting. In contrast, Jack Nicholson is iconic in his identity as film star. Being a movie star is his identity.

By the same token when something bad happens to you or you do something you wish you hadn’t, be careful not to let it define you as well. This is not always easy, but it’s critically important. Often when something bad happens or someone does something bad to you, it creates a prison that confines your self-image and potential for growth. When the action against you is really horrendous, such as molestation or abuse, the prison so tightly confines you that your self-image is built around this event.

Here’s the reality. You did nothing to deserve what happened to you and while you are obsessing with the negatives associated with the event, and they are horrible, the person who committed the act is doing laundry. You are not on their mind, they are on your mind for as long as you allow them to be.

If I allowed myself, it would be easy to be mired in the mud of self-pity and absorb myself in negative thoughts and behaviors about the man who sues me for fun. What I’ve realized is that like all of us including anyone who has wronged you, he is a product of his own programming. Once I understood that, it was easy to forgive him. Forgiving him does not condone what he did nor does it make it right. I think what he did is sick. But, I refuse to allow what he did to me to keep me in a prison of a negative mind. What is the alternative? I obsess with his attacks on me while he goes and plays a round of golf. If I hold onto the negative effects of his attacks I give him permission to compound the effects into all areas of my life. Well, permission is not granted.

What has happened to you good and bad is not you. What matters is how you deal with it.

John Graden is the author of The Impostor Syndrome. The Impostor Syndrome is the feeling you’re not as smart, talented, or skilled as others think you are. It’s the feeling you’ve been faking it and are about to be found out. Learn more about the book at:

http://www.theimpostorsyndrome.com

http://www.johngraden.com

Article Source: Your Personal Identity: How Do You Define Yourself?

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