Your attitude, excellent or arrogant?

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

Today, I want to focus on 'attitude', yours and mine and so I decided to begin this article by quoting Aristotle. I quite agree with this quote and I look at my own personal life, in particular, my habits or let me just say my character generally. I am convinced just like Aristotle that excellence indeed can be a habit or a way of life, and not just an act.

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, attitude is defined as "a settled opinion, or a way of thinking; a behaviour reflecting this way of thinking". It is also defined as; "truculence; a lack of cooperation; arrogance; style, swagger".

Now then, let us zero in on the dictionary definition and the quote by Aristotle. Where are you at with your attitude? Excellent or arrogant? Take a sober examination of your attitude. Which one of these two manifests prominently and how does it affect your relationship with your family and friends, your school or work mates etc.

I have come to learn that any kind of attitude begins with the real you inside of you. You are the architect of either a positive or negative attitude. I have had to learn the hard way especially as a young man growing up. I used to be very sarcastic and proud. It did not bother me at the time. I did not care if my sarcasm offended people or not, I enjoyed it, especially in the company of the opposite sex. I thought it was charming to be sarcastic. I used to overhear people who did not like my attitude talk about my bad behaviour. I did not care. I was too proud. They could keep their opinion for all I cared!

Hey, remember that I said you are the architect of your attitude? Yeah? Sometimes we all need a little 'nudge' to be pointed into the correct direction especially when we are bad. For me this happened when I said 'YES' to the Lord. I 'sobered' up. I realised that I had been a 'bad boy'. I took a very serious reflection of my life and in particular my attitude towards people and things around me. I felt ashamed to look back at my past life. Nothing much to write home about in this area. I then made a conscious decision to 'salvage' my relationships with my family, friends and colleagues. I just had to change my attitude. That is why I can now confidently say, "you are the architect of your arrogant or excellent attitude". You can take authority and choose to be the real good person that you are. I have experienced it and I am living proof that you too can come out of that bad attitude and cultivate one of excellence.

Now imagine these points among several others:

• ... joy and goodness every time you do good,
• ... if you are in business, your customers are always happy to do business with you because you have such a positive attitude. You are not just in business for the money but to see that you deliver goodness in your clients' lives. This is a real asset, bankable.
• ... you always appreciate and celebrate those around you and they appreciate your friendship;
• ... hey and you know what? A positive attitude always walks hand in hand with humility and integrity. People begin to see that you are a person of integrity when your attitude is excellent and humility inclined. True.
• ...out of humility you are always willing to submit yourself in service to others; always willing to give of yourself for the benefit of others, such a wonderful feeling I must add.

You know, I could go on and on but the bottom line is I want you to enjoy peace and joy by taking authority over your attitude if you have been struggling in this area. Turn your attitude into a bankable attribute. You have the power within you to do the right thing and the right thing is the right attitude. The power to determine the seasons you enter is within you. Let excellence be your habit not an act. Cultivate it, now!

I pray peace and prosperity in abundance to you.