I wanted to divert from my normal posts about online education to briefly mention what I think is one of the most important attributes that a person can possess. I guess it is a result of it being Friday and I have been dealing with people all week and just putting out fires.
Take it for what it is worth but attitude can make or break someone. I realize that I am not a mental health professional but my opinion is that there are more negative people in this world than positive. Come on — be truthful, you have been negative yourself this week or have interacted with a negative person … or two.
I recently posted that commitment is a key element of a successful online learner. That’s so true! But how can one be really committed unless he or she consistently demonstrates a positive attitude?
One of my favorite preachers is Chuck Swindoll. You might have heard him before on his radio broadcast “Insight For Living.” Here is how Chuck feels 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 failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday 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% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.”