Whether you’re in the business world, military, sports, or even government, you’ve read, heard, seen, etc. many opinions on the importance of attitude in performance. While a few authors may downplay attitude as a primary driver of performance, many more believe it is the key ingredient in high production. There are reasons for this strong belief.
World famous statesman Winston Churchill put this issue in wonderful and simple perspective when he said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
Understand that attitude will always make a big difference – for better or worse. A poor attitude will make the same level of difference as a good attitude. However, your customers, your company, and you will not be pleased with the effect. Your attitude will affect your performance, whether you want it to or not.
Even the simplest, most neutral statements you make will create judgments – conscious or subconscious – by listeners. A speaker’s attitude will affect the listener, positively or negatively, just as strongly as the spoken words. In a customer service environment, even delivering bad news can generate a positive customer response if you have a great attitude, displaying empathy, concern, and interest in the customer’s feelings.
If you’re convinced that attitude rules, you might become a “positive attitude guru” if you use some of the following tips and practice your delivery until it becomes automatic. Here are some suggestions that you can use starting tomorrow.
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone asked him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
杰里真是个让人喜欢得不行的家伙。他总是心情愉快、情绪高涨，总能说出积极的话来。每当别人问他一切可好时，他就回答：“好得不能再好了!”
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
他是个与众不同的经理，有好几个服务员都跟着他在不同的餐厅做过。他们跟着杰里是因为他的生活态度。他天生善于激励人，如果哪个雇员不走运了，杰里就会告诉他要往好的一面看。
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
我对他的生活态度深感好奇，于是有一天我走到杰里跟前问他：“我不明白!你不可能事事都顺心，你是怎样做到一直都这么积极乐观的呢?”
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
杰里回答说：“每天早上醒来后我对自己说，‘杰里，今天你有两个选择。你可以选择一个好心情，也可以选择一个坏心情。’我选择了好心情;每次有坏事发生时，我可以选择成为受害者，也可以选择从中及吸取教训，我选择了从中吸取教训;每当有人向我抱怨时，我可以选择听他们抱怨，或者给他们指出生活中积极的一面，我选择了指出生活中积极的一面。”
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
“对，话是没错，可是做起来可不容易。”我说。
"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
杰里说：“其实也容易，生活就是由很多选择组成的，出去那些不值一提的事情，那么生活中的每件事都是个选择。你可以选择如何回应这些事件。你可以选择周围人影响你心情的方式。你可以选择有个好心情或是坏心情。重点是：你可以选择如何来过你的生活。”
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
我仔细地考虑着杰里的话。不久后，我离开餐厅业去追求个人发展。我们失去了联系，但每当我对生活做抉择而非被动接受生活时，我就会想起杰里。
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him.
几年之后，我听说杰里犯了个在餐饮业不该犯的错误：一天早晨，他没关后门，三个持枪匪徒走进来，拿枪指着他。当他们试图打开保险箱时，他由于紧张，手从保险锁上滑下来。匪徒紧张之下开枪打穿了他的手，接着又有三枚子弹正中他的腹部。
Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
幸运的是，杰里很快就被人发现了，他们很快将他送到了当地的伤疗中心。经过18小时的手术和几星期的悉心护理，他终于出院了，体内还残留着子弹的碎片。
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
那件事之后六个月后我见到了杰里。我问他身体怎样了，他答道：“好极了!想不想看看我的伤疤?”我没看他的伤疤，但我问他在抢劫案发生的时候，他脑子里在想些什么。
"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
杰里回答说：“我首先想的是我要是把后门锁上就好了，但是躺在地板上的时候，我想到自己有两个选择：我可以选择生，或选择死。我选择了生。”
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
“你难道一点也不怕吗?你失去知觉了吗?”我问。
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, "He's a dead man." "I knew I needed to take action."
杰里继续说：“医生们很好，他们不断地告诉我我会好起来的。但他们推我进急救室时，我看到医生和护士脸上的表情，我觉得很害怕。他们脸上写着‘这个人要死了。’我知道我该采取些行动了。”
"What did you do?" I asked.
“你做了什么?”我问。
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes," I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Bullets!"
“当时有个牛高马大的护士朝我喊：‘杰里，你对什么东西过敏吗?’‘有，’我喊回去。‘是什么?’她问。医生和护士们都停下来等我回答。我深深吸了口气，喊道：‘子弹：’”
Over their laughter, I told them. "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
“他们全笑起来，接着我对他们说：‘瞧，我选择要活下来。给我动手术，把我当成个活人而不是死人来医治。’”
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
杰里活了下来，部分原因是医生的医术高明，但更主要是因为他那不屈不挠的态度。
Attitude, after all, is everything.
毕竟，态度能决定一切。
You practiced over and over again; you wanted it more than anyone; you studied the hardest, but in the end, you still didn't succeed. Each time you ask yourself, what happened and why. What I might suggest is that did you have a wrong attitude?
Positive attitude helps us cope with the daily affairs of life more easily. It brings optimism into our life, and makes it easier to avoid worry and negative thinking. If we adopt it as a way of life, it will bring constructive changes into our life, and makes us happier, brighter and more successful. With a positive attitude we will see the bright side of life, become optimistic and expect the best to happen. It is certainly a state of mind that is well worth developing and strengthening.
So next time, you will practice just as much, still want it just as much, will study just as hard. What will be different is that you will also put on a smile. A positive attitude might just be the one thing that you need to succeed!