CHANGING ONES PERSONALITY

CHANGING ONE’S PERSONALITY

Education is not a preparation for life.

It is life itself.

(Thomas Dewey)

ATTITUDE

(The following words are a paraphrased quote from Charles Swindoll.)

“The longer I live, the more that I realize the incredible impact of attitude on life.   It is more important than education, money, circumstances, failure,

success or what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance or skill.   It will make or break a company, a church, a home.”

“We cannot change the past or the fact that people will act in a certain way.   We cannot change the inevitable.   But we do have a choice regarding the type of attitude with which we choose to embrace each and every day of our lives with.”  

“I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.   You are in charge of your attitude.  If you choose an attitude which reflects happiness and quiet confidence about yourself to those that you come into contact with, and if you constantly try to increase your knowledge, no matter what life’s uncertainties bring, you will live successfully.”   

PROBLEMS

When Winston Churchill was a member of the opposition in the British Parliament, one of his colleagues gave a speech deploring the inability of the party in power to make a decision.  When he had finally finished, Churchill stood up and said: --- “You are wrong sir; the government has indeed reached a decision;  --- they have decided to remain undecided.”

What we are talking about here is the fear of making a mistake.  The age old and endless fear of failure.  Here then, is a formula for solving problems, which helps to overcome that fear.  I first heard of this method while I thought I was “teaching” someone else about reacting to indecision.  It quickly became apparent that I was the student, not the teacher.

What is your problem?  List the options that are available to you which you believe will have the potential to solve the problem.  Pick out the best one and do it.  If two or three options look like identical risks, choose one of them and do it.   If this decision does not solve the problem, after a certain amount of time, re-evaluate the problem and repeat the listing process above until the problem is finally solved.

Another person added the following thoughts to the above ideas. --- “In my position as head of our company, I find that if I interview four people about a problem, they will each describe the problem differently.” 

“Since they have been hired to concentrate on a specific area of responsibility in our company, their understanding of the problem is partial in accordance with their duties.  My responsibility is to hear all pertinent sides of the issue and then formulate in my mind what the total problem is.  Then I use the listing solution to problems that you have just reiterated.” [my comment] --- PRICELESS!!!

WEEDS IN A GARDEN

“When you plant a garden, you do not set aside a place for weeds. 

Your mind is a garden of knowledge, there should be no place for weeds. “

Dag Hammarsjold