There is no point in understanding an idea that influences your life unless you also know what to do about it.

Unless you know how to make it yours through step by step learning, it is not going to change you one bit. Unless you are willing to make the effort then you can not hope to make the changes you want.

Have you ever seen a small tree growing out of a rock outcropping? Even on the shores of Lake Superior, where the winter winds blow so fiercely, those little saplings survive.

They survive because they bow to the wind. The trees have no control over wind, so their only survival mechanism is to be flexible enough.

Flexibility is the saplings attitude.

At one time or another in our lives, someone has said to us to 'change your attitude'. So what is attitude and what can I do about it?

Attitude Is...

Attitude is a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object, person or idea.

It is what you have already decided that you like or dislike about something.

How Did We Decide?

Your attitude is something you have learned either because someone taught you to like or dislike something, or through your own experiments.

All we have at our disposition as human beings is thinking, feeling and doing. We respond to our environment through what we see, hear and touch.

This stimulates images, sounds and words in our minds which in turn causes our memory mechanism to search for similar memories and learned responses.

You see, hear or touch something. In a flash you search your memory and react. A response can be how you feel and what you do. What you do may only be a thought, but you always have feelings.

Everything that we think or do consciously is learned. Much of what we have learned we are not aware of until we need to use it and is brought to mind again.

Since you already have decided that you like or dislike something then your actions, words, and body language express that like or dislike.

Have you ever heard that someone has a 'chip on their shoulder'? That is someone showing their likes and dislikes, showing you what they think about something.

For example, what is your attitude toward bosses or, if you are a student, what is your attitude toward teachers?

I'll bet that if you are like most people, your lips twist slightly and you grimaced. That is you expressing your attitude.

Beliefs and Attitude

My belief is that anyone can be happy and successful as long as they can think independently. That belief will greatly influence my attitude toward people who believe themselves incapable of change.

I will need to be a whole lot more convincing.

Your beliefs are the ideas and thoughts that you hold as true. They may be generally true or they may have come about by assumptions.

You can have beliefs about anything including yourself. You can have beliefs that are based on misinformation and assumptions. And these beliefs can stop you from doing anything to help yourself.

Attitudes are a reflection of your beliefs.

Re-examine, Re-evaluate, Re-think

You may have learned to like or dislike something a long time ago when you were too young to really understand why. You may have learned because someone, a parent or sibling or friend, said they liked or disliked something.

1. Learn something new about your likes and dislikes.

    One way to make changes is to be so impressed by a new idea that it changes how you think about something else.

So feeling differently about an idea can change how you think. Feeling differently about one idea can change your attitude and beliefs.

2. Test different possibilities.

    Look for different ways of  thinking about something. Ask others for their opinions. 

3. Ask yourself the really hard questions.

    Is what I believe preventing me from changing my attitude?

    If I am assuming something is true, should I re-examine my beliefs?

    Can I do something to help myself?

    Can I be more purposeful in how I feel and think?

4. Learn to be flexible.

     Keep an open mind.  You just have to tell yourself that maybe there are other possibilities. "I'll wait and see before I decide" is a good attitude.

Finally

You can let things just happen to you and let them decide how you think and feel. Or, you can make things happen and make those things that you can't control become useful.

Its all about attitude.