Your Attitude Is 100% In Your Control

Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?

“I’m not being a pessimist. I am being a realist.” This classic line is often heard inside a “glass half-empty” perspective. The truth is, there is some validity to their statement. We can’t ignore reality, nor pressing circumstances that do make it difficult to exercise Positivity. We must keep such factors in mind if we want to lead well.

For a “glass half-full” guy like me, I need someone to remind me of the difficult roads which often lay ahead of me and those around me. When I am fired up about a project or strategy, I may miss warning signs. This is when I need someone to help me to see all sides of a scenario. These individuals are a huge help to me as they help me to hit the pause button and cause me think about potential issues ahead. When they slow me down—plans are better, we are more prepared and success is more likely.

Pausing to view all sides of opportunity is an important role for someone to play. The problem, however, is when individuals take it a step beyond this and develop a critical attitude as a lifestyle. When they choose this lifestyle, they are not realists—they are pessimists. They become an individual who finds problems in every idea before exploring it.

Attitudes are contagious. When someone on the team consistently brings other people down by criticizing new ideas, the team will stop sharing those new ideas. On the other hand, when we encourage new ideas, even during an ideation phase in which ideas are not fully developed, other team members will begin to share and make the ideas better.

For someone who easily sees potential pitfalls, it may help for them to preface their comments by saying, “I think I see where you are going with this. It could work…