I am a firm believer that one of the most important things you can teach someone is proper work ethic. No matter how financially stable or unstable you may be, nothing will get you farther in life than proper attitude, drive, and hard work. I’m lucky I grew up an athlete; it taught me respect, teamwork, passion, and drive— four qualities that our society today seems to be lacking in severely.
I’ve been noticing an increasing amount of disrespect lately, which is the first quality I’d like to touch on. Don’t be disrespectful. Just don’t. It’s very simple really. Don’t talk back to parents, teachers, coaches, bosses, or your superiors. If someone tells you do do something, say yes sir/ma’am and get it done (within reason). I watched a co-worker of mine who did something wrong spend several minutes talking back to our manager trying to justify himself when in the time it took to argue, the mess could have been cleaned up and problem solved. There is nothing “cool” about being disrespectful to your superiors, it’s immature and an all-around bad idea. Nothing will get you fired faster in the workplace than a disrespectful attitude.
Another topic worth touching on is that of teamwork. Many people prefer to work by themselves, which is fine. As socially oriented as I am, I’ll admit that when it comes to working I can crank out a project much faster on my own than I can with other people. However, If the situation calls for a group to work well together, suck it up and do it. Far too often people combat their discomfort with group work settings by complaining and being utterly terrible to work with. Don’t be that person. You may not want to function well in a group setting, but you can’t always get what you want. It’s best to overcome your discomfort and simply get your responsibility complete.
Next up is passion. Passion is such an important quality to have. I find it best to live your life as an all around passionate person. Be passionate about those you love, show passion in your work, and in your hobbies. However be careful, because intense passion is often coupled with frustration. Hold yourself to a high standard, but don’t beat yourself down if you don’t find yourself meeting that standard just yet. Keep your head held high and move forward with a positive attitude. Keep the passion, but channel your energy in a positive and efficient way, instead of a negative way. That simple change makes all the difference in the world.
Last but not least, I’d like to discuss drive. Drive is similar to passion, but the way I see it, passion is what fuels the drive. The drive includes you getting out and accomplishing what you’re passionate about. Drive means putting in work. This is a very important concept, as you can be as passionate you want about something or someone, but unless you actually get out there and put your passion into action, it means nothing. Take a dream job for example. You can talk all you want about “what you want to be when you grow up”, but talking about it isn’t going to make it happen. You have to put in real, efficient, hard work in order to achieve the goals that you’re passionate about.
What’s important to remember about these goals is while they’re all important, they all need each other to survive. You can’t pick and choose. No one wants someone who’s passionate but disrespectful, or driven but a terrible team player. In order to achieve the success you desire, it’s important to make a point to possess every component of a successful attitude. It’s not easy, and it won’t happen overnight, but it’s a very plausible and rewarding goal to work towards.
“A positive attitude is something everyone can work on, and everyone can learn how to employ it.” -Joan Lunden
Shedding Light 