Lesson 2 - Attitude

Coaching for College Students

Lesson 2 - Attitude
A quote from Henry Ford, American industrialist and car maker ““Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”

You get to choose your attitude.  Yes – when doing a home repair job and you hit your thumb with a hammer, even then you get to choose your attitude.  You can scream (probably acceptable), you can swear (may not be acceptable), you can pick up your hammer and throw it through a window in your anger (not acceptable). 

Let’s look at “I think I can”.  Now there are times when “I think I can” are impossible.  “I think I can climb Mount Everest blindfolded with my legs tied together” – not a good idea.  But, the various climbers of Mount Everest BELIEVED that they could climb Mount Everest.  They planned carefully, had thought through various scenarios and achieved that goal. 

As a child, I read the Little Golden book about the “Engine who could”.  This little engine when asked to pull a train over the mountain kept saying to himself “I think I can; I think I can”.  The engine’s attitude was about doing it – not how heavy the train was, not how steep the mountain was, but that he could do it.
“I think I can” is chronicled in history.  Edison supposedly tried over 1,000 times to find a workable lightbulb.  His belief in himself “I think I can” made all of the many failures acceptable.  He later just viewed them as steps on the journey to the lightbulb. 

Abraham Lincoln failed in many endeavors – as a businessman, as a soldier as a lawyer and as a politician until he was elected president.  He exhibited the “I think I can” attitude.

What do you want to do?  Think about it; get your attitude right.

You are driving and a car cuts you off and speeds down the road.  What is your attitude?  “That Jerk.  I hope he has an accident” – or maybe a more gentle attitude “I bet he just got a call that his mother is dying and he is rushing to her deathbed to say ‘goodbye’”.  While it might not be true, it keeps your emotions and negative attitude in check. 

When you took calculus, before the class started did you say to yourself “I can never learn calculus, it is too hard” – or did you say “I think I can I think I can”.  You can also say “Look at student X, he passed calculus and I’m smarter than he is.  If he can do it, so can I”.

A good attitude does not whine.  “It is too hot today” (and can you do anything about that – other than stay indoors?); “I hate doing this” (sounds like a bad attitude to me)

“I just got fired from my job” might actually be a great opportunity to move on to try something new.  Or, do you want to whine “I shouldn’t have gotten fired”, “Those idiots, I’m better than half the staff that wasn’t fired”.   There is a concept that when a door closes a window opens. 
You can get out of bed, stretch and start sing “Oh what a beautiful morning”.  What is your attitude towards the new day and especially towards Monday?  “Wow – this is a brand new week, I am SO EXCITED to find new adventures, new things to learn this week”.

There is a story of two children, one with positive attitudes and one with negative attitudes.  The negative ve child is given the key to a room and finds a pony and starts to cry.  “Someday this pony will die and I’ll feel bad”.  The positive attitude child is given a key to a room filled with horse manure and is so excited “With all this manure, there MUST be a pony for me inside this room!” 

What is your self-talk?  We do all talk to ourselves (if only mentally).  Do you say frequently “This is a great day!” “I really enjoy doing this”; “This is going to be a success”?  If so, you are reinforcing a positive attitude.
In my first year of high school teaching, on my preparation period, I went to the teacher’s lounge.  There was free coffee (and in those days, a haze of smoke) and a lot of whining.  “I hate my students”, “I have my classes”, “I don’t like the principal”.  I learned quickly to get in, get my cup of coffee and go back to my classroom to do my preparation.  I learned that negative people can bring you down.  Like Winnie-the-Pooh character Eeyore, nothing is right, it is always raining, it is always miserable. 
Don’t say “I think I can” just once, embedded it in your brain.  Say it again and again. 
 

Assignment:

1. Check your attitude - do you sometimes whine?
2. Count how many times you complain and how many times you are positive today - what did you find out?
3. Think about how you can make your attitude better