Ability, Motivation, and Attitude
By Chris Widener
“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines
what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” - Lou Holtz
There are three primary aspects of your life that will
determine whether or not you are successful in your endeavors. You will
not be successful if you have only one or two. You must have all three
working together. Consider them like the three legs of a “stool of success.”
Ability - the level at which you are able to actually do
things. Your skill level. If you have a high level of skill, that’s
good. And the better you get, the better it will be for you. To the
degree that you can perform your actions at higher and higher skill
levels, the more and more success you will find in your chosen field.
Motivation - the level at which you are able to find “a
reason to act.” This is the internal drive that you find that enables
you to exercise your abilities. To the degree that you can find a way,
or ways, to keep yourself motivated, you will see yourself right in
the thick of things, carrying out your actions to the best of your abilities
and succeeding accordingly.
Attitude - this is the mental state that you have while
carrying out your actions to the best of your ability. It is the way
you view the world around you and choose to see it, either positively
or negatively. To the degree that you can maintain a positive attitude
about yourself, others, and the circumstances you find yourself in,
you will see yourself achieving greater and greater things.
“But Chris, can’t I get away with just two?”
No.
What if you have high skills and motivation but a rotten
attitude? People will stay away and hinder your success. What if you
have a good attitude and motivation but poor skills? People will like
you, maybe even root for you, but go to someone else with the skills
they need. What if you have great skills and attitude but no motivation?
Well, you’ll be sitting on the couch like a lazy slug while the go-getters
are out there making your money and achieving your dreams!
No, it takes all three. So let’s ask some questions:
Ability: How highly skilled are you? Is your skill level
holding you back? How so? What could you achieve if you just took your
skills to the next level beyond where they are right now? How would
improving your skills improve the bottom line of your success?
Motivation: How motivated are you? Why do you answer that
way? What would your spouse or close friends say? Would they say you
are as motivated as you say you are? Why or why not? Why do you have
the level of motivation that you have? What could you do to find a higher
level of motivation? What would happen if you became super motivated
for the next period of your life. What great things would happen?
Attitude: Do you have a good attitude or a poor one? How
would you rate yourself? What about when things go wrong? Are you more
of an optimist or a pessimist? What would happen if you took your attitude
to the next level for the next 60 days? What if you just chose to have
an incredible attitude? What would be the ramifications?
“The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is
what a man or woman is able to do that counts.” Booker T. Washington
This is so true. People will judge you on what you accomplish,
not what you know or what you talk about. In fact, if you know a lot
or talk a lot but do not accomplish anything, people will wonder what
happened. So the question is whether or not you will take the actions
necessary to deliver on your potential. To do so, you will need to focus
in on the three legs of the stool of success: Your ability, your motivation,
and your attitude.
Take some time this week to give some serious thought
to these three areas. Your success depends on it! And when you have
done some reflection - put the conclusions you come to into action!
Chris Widener is a popular speaker and
writer, as well as the President of Made for Success. Visit his websites
at http://www.madeforsuccess.com
Copyright 2003 Made for Success. Used by permission. All rights reserved
worldwide.
This article was provided by GHF.
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