I’m not entirely sure why I enjoy these “demotivators” so much, but they certainly make me smile.
Attitude (courtesy of http://www.despair.com) — “If you can’t handle me at my worst, you deserve to know it’s also my best.”
Source: https://despair.com/collections/demotivators/products/attitude
Borrowing from The Little Engine That Could, a story that extols the value of hard work and optimism, thinking that you can do/accomplish something is more than half the battle. Then I came across this quotation (from 1916) that really helped to solidified this attitude in my mind.
“To think you can, creates the force that can.” (Orison Swett Marden, from his book Victorious Attitude)
Let’s all go forth and be victorious!
Several years ago, I ran across a book (Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build, and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of Success) and was intrigued enough to purchase the book. Unfortunatly, I started reading, and for whatever reason, put it down and never finished. A quotation crossed my desk today: “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react.” (John Maxwell) and it reminded me of Jeff’s book and I realized the “how I react” is all about attitude. So, my new plan is to slowly work my way through Jeff’s book again and see if I just might be able to put these principles into action in my life. I have always considered myself a fairly positive person (despite having become a bit “jaded” through the course of a twenty-five year career in law enforcement), but I am also firmly believe that one can always do better.
Here are a couple more quotations that support this notion . . .
“You become what you think about all day long.” (Earl Nightingale)
“It’s your thoughts behind the words you speak that create your attitude.” (Jeffrey Gitomer)
Jeff begins his book with a definition for “positive attitude” — “the way you dedicate yourself to the way you think.” He goes on to point out that this is the exact same definition for a negative attitude . . . the decision is yours.
They say that attitude is everything (at least when it comes to determining success or failure). Here is a demotivator that casts this in a different light. And while we’re at it, why not throw in some of my favorite quotations about attitude?
“People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.” John C. Maxwell
“For success, attitude is as equally important as ability.” Walter Scott
“Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you’re going to live your life.” Joel Osteen
“Great effort springs naturally from great attitude.” Pat Riley
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” Maya Angelou
Attitude, that’s what life is all about. We all have the option to control our attitudes, but how often do we allow our attitudes to control us? I know that I have from time to time. I’m constantly having to remind myself that I really do have the power to change the way I’m feeling and thinking, especially when I am in the throes of self-pity and depression. Hopefully one of these days, in the not too distant future, I will be able to say that these moments of negative attitude will be the occasional, as opposed to the regular, occurence. (Disclaimer: knowing my perfectionistic tendencies, my attitude probably is not nearly as bad as I perceive it to be — hmm, how perceptive of me.) Here are a few quotations to help kick start your attitude.
“A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.” — William Arthur Ward
“People will try to rain on your parade because they have no parade of their own.” — Jeffrey Gitomer
“Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” — Zig Ziglar
Courtesy of http://www.despair.com
And, while ability is not the only factor in determining how successful you will be, it is certainly an important factor. I have not posted a demotivator in a while, so here is one on “incompetence,” courtesy of www.despair.com, that ties in nicely with a Raymond Chandler quotation that I ran across some time ago.
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” — Raymond Chandler
This was an excellent blog post by Seth Godin who posits that we spend way too much time on the lower steps without really having a clear idea of our approach or attitude. Exactly why do we do the things we do? This is our attitude.
And, if you are going to start asking questions, Seth provides some excellent questions that should really get you thinking more about attitude and less about execution!
Now go forth, check your attitude (start by answering these questions), and succeed!
The Gun-Carryin' Librarian 
