I am neither a psychologist or a philosopher so I can not elaborate on differences between optimists and pessimists. For myself, I am an optimist, and I see a glass half full. However, I would be an idiot if a person with a knife was heading towards me and instead of running away I would respond that I don’t have a knife sharpening kit. In this post, I will investigate “attitude” as per my understanding.
Paulo Coelho mode ON*
When people speak or write about attitude, most often they have in mind an optimistic view. This sound energy of being always happy and looking on the bright side of life. Seems so right and we all want to be surrounded by optimists, don’t we? A few hours ago I would have said “Yes!” but one simple statement opened my eyes.
It can’t be fixed now. Change your attitude toward the problem, and we’ll solve it in the foreseeable future.
And now, let’s just imagine Elon Musk responding to this phrase. “Watch this”, “Shut up”, “Observe and learn” - just a few intriguing possibilities. Though it might be more pragmatic - as simple as “F__k you.” In other words, Elon and other great leaders are for challenging the status quo and stand out from the crowd - not changing the attitude toward the problem but fixing the problem.
LinkedIn is an interesting place. Some time back, there were a lot of articles about millennials. Lately, I see many articles about … attitude. I read a few of them, and the main point was almost the same:
You can’t control everything. But you can control your actions and your attitude.
I completely agree we can’t control everything. It’s impossible and why on Earth I would want to do it? Though it seems to me that many leaders are changing their motivational speeches and incorporate “attitude”. As if the employees’ attitude was the main issue. Employees instead of working silently - speak up, express dissatisfaction and suggest improvements. But why would you improve something if it’s already perfect (sarcasm)?
Do I always have to see a glass half full? No. You paid for a drink and someone drunk half of it. Are you still happy?
Who wants to deal with troublemakers? No one
Can conflict be any good? Yes. How Much Do You Love Conflict?
Who changes the world? Troublemakers (not criminals, but crazy ones )
Be aware young padawan, control your attitude wisely, once crushed might never come to life again
Paulo Coelho mode OFF*
*Taken from a Polish IT blogger, Maciej Aniserowicz. He uses Paulo Coelho modes when talking about abstract things.