ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING NADENE TUCKER-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WILSON COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN MAY 6, AM EAST GRANDOVER-THE KOURY CENTER A TTITUDES ARE CONTAGIOUS. IS YOURS WORTH CATCHING ? ~D ENNIS AND W ENDY M ANNERING

WHY ARE WE HERE TODAY? Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. ~Attributed to both Jonathan Swift and Benjamin Franklin

OBJECTIVES a.Identify the types of attitudes exhibited daily (positive/negative) b.Analyze positive/negative thought patterns and structure negative patterns positively c.Complete an “Attitude Self-Assessment” d.Determine your goal and action steps So often time it happens, we all live our life in chains, and we never even know we have the key. ~The Eagles, "Already Gone"

ATTITUDE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE YouTube Video Zig Ziglar-Attitude Makes all the Difference-(10 minutes) Individual Group Discussions I don't like that man. I must get to know him better. ~Abraham Lincoln

KEITH HARRELL’S 10 STEPS FOR TURNING ATTITUDE INTO ACTION 1. Understand the Power of Attitude 2. Take Control of Your Life 3. Practice Self-Awareness 4. Re-Frame Your Bad Attitude 5. Find Your Purpose and Passion 6. Be Pre-Active 7. Discover How to Motivate Yourself 8. Build Supportive Relationships 9. See Change as an Opportunity 10. Leave a Lasting Legacy How we think shows through in how we act. Attitudes are mirrors of the mind. They reflect our thinking. ~David Joseph Schwartz

UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF ATTITUDE Things to consider when changing your attitude: 1.Adjust your attitude and change your life 2.Our attitudes effect everything we do 3.Your attitude reflects you 4.Attitudes at work 5.Attitudes at home I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else. ~Winston Churchill

OPTIMISTS AND PESSIMISTS Optimists (positive) 1. No matter what happens, Ann always has a smile on her face. 2. Carl always manages to find the good in even the worst of situations. 3. Lisa can get anything done. She is assertive and unstoppable. 4. Jim is an inspiration. He has empathy while maintaining a results- oriented focus. Pessimists (negative) 1. Bob is not a devil’s advocate. He’s just plain negative. 2. Sue’s focus is always on the problem. She should try to focus on the solution. 3. Larry never has good things to say about his job. Why doesn’t he get a new job? 4. If I don’t get the promotion and Becky does, I will quit. Optimist: someone who isn't sure whether life is a tragedy or a comedy but is tickled silly just to be in the play. ~Robert Brail,

PERSONAL DEFINITIONS OF ATTITUDE GROUP DISCUSSION What is your personal definition of attitude? What is your attitude toward life? Regardless of life’s ups and downs, play with your (NBA) Natural-Born Abilities. How does your attitude reflect you? Are you a Good morning, God! person more often than Good God, it’s morning! person? Do you positively affect the lives of those with whom you interact? Think of the individuals in your life that affect you in a positive way and those who affect your in a negative way. When was the last time your attitude made a difference, bad or good? To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. ~George Santayana

ATTITUDE IS A CHOICE A Positive Attitude is Everything The world is full of cactus, but we don't have to sit on it. ~Will Foley

IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE ATTITUDE a.List five attributes of the people you know who are optimists (positive) (use codes or fake names to identify the people you know). b.List five attributes of the people you know who are pessimists (negative) (use codes or fake names to identify the people you know). c.List five optimistic (positive) statements you spoke or thought recently. d.List five pessimistic (negative) statements you spoke or thought recently. Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there. ~Norman Vincent Peale

IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE ATTITUDE Answer the following questions as honestly as possible: 1.What type of reputation would you say you have with others; positive or negative? 2.Would you identify yourself as an optimist or a pessimist? 3.When faced with challenges and difficulties, do you focus on staying positive or do you give in to the pressure of negative circumstances? 4.Do you help to eliminate challenges and difficulties or do you contribute to challenges and difficulties? 5.When you identified people you knew personally and identified them as optimists or pessimists, which of the two lists were easier to write? 6.When you identified people you knew personally and identified them as optimists or pessimists, which list had the most names? Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there. ~Norman Vincent Peale

IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE ATTITUDE Individually answer questions on p. 2-3 (top of page 3 only) in your handout (5 minutes) Share what you discovered with the group at your table (5 minutes). Share key points with the entire group (5 minutes) No vision and you perish; No ideal, and you're lost; Your heart must ever cherish Some faith at any cost. Some hope, some dream to cling to, Some rainbow in the sky, Some melody to sing to, Some service that is high. ~Harriet Du Autermont

ATTITUDE SELF-ASSESSMENT SCORE Individually answer all 20 self assessment questions (5-10 minutes). Score your sheet based on instructions Tally your score Assess where you are based on the four categories. Consider how much more you often suffer from your anger and grief, than from those very things for which you are angry and grieved. ~Marcus Antonius

SAMPLE SELF-ASSESSMENT

GOAL FOR IMPROVEMENT Either way, things are a lot better - either a lot better than they were or a lot better than they're going to be. ~Robert Brault, WRITE YOUR GOAL HERE! I____________________________________________ on this _____________ day of ______________set a goal of achieving an average attitude-assessment score of _________________ by _______________________. (Score range) (Date) Signature:_____________________________________________________

15 DECISIONS FOR A BETTER ATTITUDE Name 15 decisions you can make that will allow you to tape into the power of your positive attitude over the next few weeks. They do not have to be major decisions. Each decision should benefit yourself and at least one other person (action steps). Spending quality time with your children, helping with their homework, playing ball in the yard, etc. Spending quality time with your mate, helping to prepare dinner or clean up after dinner, watching a favorite movie, taking a walk through the neighborhood, etc. Deciding to call or write a friend or relative you have, by choice not communicated with due to an unreconciled difference. Deciding to volunteer for a day at a local community organizations—school, church, charitable group, etc. An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. ~G.K. Chesterton, "On Running After One's Hat," All Things Considered, 1908

15 POSITIVE ACTIONS 15 Positive Actions taken based on your 15 decisions (what you actually did).

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/FINAL REMARKS

A BRAND NEW DAY BY THE WIZ CAST Everybody look around, 'Cause there's a reason to rejoice you see Everybody come out, And let's commence to singing joyfully Everybody look up, And feel the hope that we've been waiting for Everybody's glad, Because our silent fear and dread is gone Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully, Just look about, You owe it to yourself to check it out Can't you feel a brand new day?, Can't you feel a brand new day?, Can't you feel a brand new day? Can't you feel a brand new day? Everybody be glad, Because the sun is shining just for us, Everybody wake up, Into the morning into happiness. Hello world, It's like a different way of living now, And thank you world, We always knew that we'd be free somehow In harmony, And show the world that we've got liberty. It's such a change, For us to live so independently, Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully Just look about, You owe it to yourself to check it out, Can't you feel a brand new day? Can't you feel a brand new day? AC08C95675FFC12938&view=detail&FORM=VIRE7 If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit

REFERENCES Beyond the Quote ( “Positive Attitude is Everything.” Retrieved 6/11/13 from Brand New Day-Retrieved 6/11/13 from 75FFC AC08C95675FFC12938&view=detail&FORM=VIRE7 75FFC AC08C95675FFC12938&view=detail&FORM=VIRE7 Harrell, Keith (2000). Attitude is Everything: 10 Life –Changing Steps to Turning Attitude into Action (pp.1-22). HarperCollins Publishers Inc.: New York, NY. Harrell, Keith (2003). Attitude is Everything Workbook: Strategies and Tools for Developing Personal and Professional Success (pp. 2-62). HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.: New York, NY. Ziglar, Zig. Attitude Makes all the Difference. Retrieved 6/11/13 from