. Trying on a New Attitude
Of course, changing an attitude is not as simple as changing a wardrobe or deciding to take a different motor route. Our life attitude is often a matter of default behavior. Consider a new personal computer. After you take it out of the box and set it up, the PC will operate based on default programs wired into it by its manufacturer. Until we decide to start exploring its potential and many options, it will remain about the same.
Your life is somewhat like that. Most people pretty much adopt the attitude of their parents, guardians, friends or community. Think about religion. How rare would it be to see a Buddhist monk strolling down the street of a small town in the Midwestern America? Or how about a Catholic nun shopping in a market in a Japanese village? It’s these anomalies that make us stop and take a second look. Even in a world that is increasingly diverse, people tend to wear the “outfit” provided by their background — religion, culture, education and even what they find attractive in others. And for those who were given “rags” to wear — emotional or physical abuse coupled with years of negativity — changing an attitude can seem as implausible as changing one’s height or eye color.
The first step is basic. Identify where you are now and how you got there? What compass did you use? If we desire a life of happiness and personal growth we must use a compass that points to True North — embedded in reality. We have to acknowledge several factors.
1. Perfection is impossible but happiness isn’t
2. A failed past does not have to define us.
3. Positive attitude is a force of habit.
4. Change is possible (and inevitable).
5. Attitude is a matter of choice.
Once we make each of these truths a reality in our day-to-day lives, we slowly see the joy that comes from attitude growth. The compass begins to point to a bright future.
D. Not perfection, But Happiness
Thanks to electronic pervasive communication (which nevertheless has many positive qualities), we all have the same opportunity to be simultaneously brainwashed by what I call the Myth of Perfection. Simply put, it is the ideal presented in movies and television programs that we must attain some kind of unattainable perfection in every aspect of our lives in order to experience true self-worth.
Advertisers use this myth to sell more expensive cars to those who have perfectly acceptable transportation. The myth tells beautiful women that, if they don’t possess the rail-thin body of a model, they are worthless.
The first step to examining and aligning your attitude is to ask: Where do I want to go? In other words, where do I want this compass called my attitude to point? What’s my destination and mission?
