Chapter 7.1 Attitude

Attitude

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.”

William James (1842-1910)    American Philosopher and Psychologist

The first step is having the right attitude.  It goes back to knowing that you have control … that you can make things happen. It’s pretty hard to get that positive feeling if you feel that you are a victim of circumstances beyond your control.

“A warrior takes responsibility for his acts, for the most trivial of acts. An average man acts out his thoughts, and never takes responsibility for what he does.”

Carlos Castaneda (1925-1998)     Peruvian born American Writer

Many years ago, I read many of the books in the Castaneda series.  These books are my first recollection of the term “being a warrior.”  Carlos was a guy trying to understand the things around him from a spiritual (often a hallucinatory) perspective.  His travel agent was Mexican-Indian self-professed shaman by the name of Don Juan.

One of the key goals of the story-teller was to develop a warrior mentality, not from a militaristic point of view, but from a personal sense of being … to become “impeccable” in this warrior persona in his daily life. A warrior has to prepare himself and his weapons (his tools), so that they will be in the best possible condition for combat. His life depends on it.

“A rule of thumb for a warrior is that he makes his decisions so carefully that nothing that may happen as a result of them can surprise him, much less drain his power.”

Carlos Castaneda (1925-1998)      Peruvian born American Writer

For us to enjoy a substantive life, we too need to prepare ourselves well. Our lives depend on it. We need to train our brain and body to look for the positive. We need to be impeccable in our thought process and our tasks. We will need Confidence, Commitment, and Enthusiasm. It will take some Discipline and Perseverance.  But we are going to be fighters … fighters for our Positivity.

“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.”

William James (1842-1910)     American Philosopher and Psychologist

Your attitude has to be active, not passive. I sometimes get this feeling that I’m being over-whelmed with too many things. That’s the time to say to yourself that your schedule isn’t going to beat you. You control your schedule. Figure out what is most important in the time-frame and take control on what you can do. Get out from under the heavy burden and jump on top of it! Get on top of your game!

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

Maya Angelou      American Poet

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