It goes without question that any business intending to thrive will, sooner or later, be forced into making an honest inventory of assets and liabilities. Yet, whether from a business perspective, or in the going concern of a single human life, we often lose track of our most vital product, our own attitudes.

Attitudes, for the most part, dictate the nature and result of our relationships with ourselves, other persons, places, things, concepts and ideas, the world at large, and in the final assessment, the very nature and result of the lives we lead.

It has been said that humans do not have attitudes; their attitudes have them. Our attitudes grow, develop, and often change over a lifetime, based exclusively on what we have learned to believe about the world around us, and all its components.

We make judgements and coping decisions based on what we believe to be true about a given situation or person, seldom considering that our beliefs and attitudes may be unrealistically rigid, or even at fault.

Attitudes - A System of Believing

Think on this. All humans come into this world like a blank sheet of paper, with no knowledge and no beliefs about the people and situations we will encounter. As individuals, everything we believe today to be correct and true, our worldview if you will, is a result of situations we have experienced thus far, and the lessons we have learned from those encounters.

From that lifetime bank of gathered information we develop systems of believing, or patterns of beliefs, that are as unique to each human as is a fingerprint. And needless to say, some people hold their particular belief system to be the only one that is correct and worthwhile.

As a direct outgrowth from our belief system comes our personal attitudes. Whether it be cooperative, neutral, defensive, or aggressive, an attitude is simply an individual's patterned method of understanding and coping with the world, its inhabitants, and all related situations and circumstances.

Killer Attitudes

Hatred and intolerance are attitudes that have spawned warfare and death since a time before history was first written. Yet in a smaller and more personal, yet perhaps more relevant perspective, those attitudes can also condemn an individual to an ongoing inner warfare, a lack of peace within.

Rigid and inflexible beliefs and attitudes often produce a lock-step approach to living, keeping one in a state of constant contention with himself and the world about him. Quashed potential, perpetual discontent, damaged relationships, and personal failure on at least some level, are frequently the sad result.

On the other hand, attitudes of tolerance, acceptance, patience, and cooperation toward self and others can create a satisfying life, great achievement, healthy relationships, and numerous and varied definitions of the word success on all levels of business and personal endeavor.

A life built around flexible and positive attitudes will invariably foster harmony, contentment, productivity, and peace of mind for an individual and all who surround her.

Attitude - Asset or Liability?

It's commonly known that major corporations expend untold billions of dollars annually on public relations advertising, specifically to overcome a common perception that labels them as greedy and heartless.

However large or small, most business concerns will, over time, develop a character or a persona that directly reflects the attitudes of those who have the most influence. Any contrived image that might be overtly displayed is typically of little significance.

The underlying attitude, the real attitude, will be felt and identified by customers and clients. And based upon those feelings and definitions, their own attitudes in fact, they will make their next buying decision.

Attitudes - the Deciding Factor

The final result of any business or personal endeavor will unfold in a direct relation to the beliefs and attitudes injected by individuals. This principle holds true without fail, in corporate board rooms, at front service desks, and at kitchen tables as well.

Fortunately, the power to choose in this aspect has been freely granted to all of humankind. What one believes will ultimately decide her or his own reality. Their attitudes will make it so.

Widely regarded as one of the founders of modern psychology, William James said, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind."