Activity 9

Topic 9: Attitudes

Task 1: Reading the poem "Attitudes" by Charles Swindoll

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."


Yes, this poem is correct... your attitude can have a tremendous impact on how your day goes, how people perceive you, and how you perceive yourself, others, and the world.

Task 2, Part 1: Though I am not as bad as some people, I admit my attitude is not the best. I tend to be very cynical, and I try to critique things to the highest degree. I am very quick to call BS on things, or to form a strong opinion and stick to it (sometimes I just do this out of stubbornness, even when I know someone else may have a good point). I tend to focus on small aspects instead of looking at the bigger picture. I can also be conceited and condescending; I judge people and usually don't like them. I am overly critical of things, even my own work.

However, in the given circumstances of my life in this world in 2010, I can honestly say that my less than perfect attitude has gotten me much further than a typical suck-up positive attitude would have. I know that I am smart, and I know how to use my intellect to get what I want and get where I need to be in life (there's the conceitedness I was speaking of). Drama and acting has taught me how to quickly turn on the super happy perky up-beat positive attitude when I need to (dealing with customers at work, job interviews, etc). If I was like that 24/7 though, I would be suppressing so much that my passive aggression would at some point pop and I would be likely to lash out at an entirely inappropriate time. By being slightly atypical, I stand out from the average and though I don't have tons of friends, the few I do have appreciate me for who I am, and I genuinely respect them as individuals. You can call me fake or weird or a bitch, but when it comes down to it, as long as I see my actions as justified (and trust me, I thoroughly analyze situations and spend lots of time pondering and reflecting upon life), I really don't care.

Task 2, part 2: At my service learning site, I am usually in a good mood and have a better attitude than normal. I like the teachers I work with and though it can be frustrating trying to deal with the students, it's enjoyable. I usually spend my time reading or drawing, or talking to the students, who usually like me helping them because I'm not as defensive as Mr Corley, and i'm not trying to get them in trouble (this is how alot of students feel about teachers). I try to give the students the benefit of the doubt when it comes to them misbehaving, and when it blows up in my face, I don't take it personally and just laugh it off. They say some pretty funny things, one girl told Mr Slovert, "go suck a dick, mother fu**er" (real quote, I wouldn't casually use language like that on a school blog). Though I am bored alot, I try and stay genuinely upbeat and willing to do whatever.

Task 2, part 3: My dad has been my main influence for my attitude. He has always stressed the importance of being willing to learn and work hard. It is not about how smart someone is or how many facts they know, but about how they use their minds. For instance, Phil is not as acadmeically inclined as I am, but he is curious about the world and the universe, and is ready and willing to try new things, experience life. I loose alot of respect for people when they hinder others (if you want to drop out, fine, but talking in class and being an idiot wasting the teacher's time and distracting other students who do care will really piss me off).


Also, just smiling can make your attitude and day a million times better. Even if you just make yourself smile at your reflection in the mirror in the morning, you're far more likely to be friendlier to others and have a better day.