|
Attitude:
Beliefs are like filters. When you observe life through
a particular filter, you can only receive certain
information. The rest is unavailable.
It's like having your TV tuned to NBC. You're not going
to see any shows on CBS, no matter how hard you try.
You can go to therapy, join a support group, or take
assertiveness training. You can even buy a hi-tech,
multi-channel satellite dish, but no matter what you do,
if you don't change the channel, you'll still be watching
NBC.
The same is true of beliefs. Your beliefs won't let
anything in except those things that fit with your
beliefs. For example, if you believe "life is hard,"
you won't have much fun in life. If good times come,
you may tell yourself "they won't last. . . so be prepared
for the worst".
On the other hand, if you believe "life is good
and getting better," you'll probably have a lot
less stress. Even when difficulties come, you may
be thinking "they won't last. . . and it's always darkest
just before the dawn".
The lesson is simple. If you don't like how things are
going, if you don't like how you're feeling, change
the channel. That's what Leonardo da Vinci had to do
when he was painting "The Last Supper. "Da Vinci had
painted the face of Judas to look like a personal
enemy of his. As he thought about how much he disliked
the man, it was easy to paint the face of Judas to
look like his enemy.
However, when it came time to paint the face of Jesus, da Vinci had great difficulty. His eyes would wander
to the face of his enemy, and thoughts of his enemy
made it impossible for him to concentrate on the
goodness of Jesus. In fact, da Vinci succeeded in
painting the face of Jesus only after he painted out
the face of Judas and reconciled with his enemy.
In essence, da Vinci couldn't change until he changed
his belief. Until he changed from the belief of
"get even with your enemies" to "love your enemies,"
he found himself stuck.
Telemetrics International found the same thing to be
true in the business world. They studied 16,000
executives who had risen to the top of their various
corporations, but they were divided into "high
achievers" and "low achievers. "In other words,
some were effective, and some were not.
What was the difference? The effective ones BELIEVED
in employees whereas the ineffective ones did not.
As a result, the effective executives cared about
employees as well as profits. The effective ones
trusted the ability of their subordinates while the
ineffective ones did not. The ineffective executives
were simply preoccupied with their own security.
When it came to communication, the high achievers
sought the advice of their subordinates. They
listened to them. By contrast, the low achievers
didn't seek employee input. They avoided communication
with them and relied on impersonal policy manuals and
formal procedures instead.
So if you don't like how things are going, if you
don't like the results you're getting on and off the
job, change the channel. Then everything else will
start to fall into place.
Action on Attitude
Article:
Take a look at the channels you watch or the beliefs
you hold. Select a channel that you watch too often,
and then consciously switch to a channel that is just
the opposite. Do it for two days, and see which results
you like better.
More articles:
For additional information on the topic of attitude, click on any of the
following:
|
