Menu
It was Hans Selye who said “Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” Another great quote is by Thomas Jefferson; “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
When working in consulting, we often are asked to help when things aren’t going well. Rare is the day when a customer calls to tell us that the “Bluebirds are singing,” and all is well. More often, things have “gone off the rails” and they need help. These are almost always stressful situations, often accompanied by more than a little frustration.
As a professional, it is incumbent on us to step into any situation with a calm, collected, confident attitude. Not only does this create a good starting position to launch our efforts, it also helps establish a sense of reassurance for the customer. If the process works as intended, it will help the customer establish a sense of calm, helping them to actively participate in the resolution of the challenge.
This idea is reinforced in the words of John C. Maxwell; “People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”
It is important to note that Attitude involves a decision. Yours may be a conscious decision or it may be a sub-conscious one. The difference is up to us but one thing is certainly clear; the Attitude we adopt in any given situation can be changed. As said by Maya Angelou; “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
