Costly Attitudes

Here are some fifty sayings about attitudes. There are bad attitudes, good attitudes, and even better attitudes. The latter may lead to proficiency one way or another; that is one option.

In psychology, an attitude is an expression of favor or disfavour toward a person, place, thing, or event. Carl Jung defines attitude as a "readiness of the psyche [mind] to act or react in a certain way". Attitudes can be based a person's past, and also the present.

There are explicit (deliberately formed) attitudes and implicit (subconscious) attitudes. The latter may go unacknowledged or be a little outside of one's awareness, yet considerate studies of various responses show they exist all the same, and are reflected in such as biases.

Attitudes have three parts: (a) A cognitive part (of reason); an affective part (of feelings or guts), and a behavioural part (one's behavour).

Attitudes tend to show what we are bent on and favour too. Attitudes serve particular functions - for example (1) prejudicial and derogating attitudes serve to bolster the self-concept of being OK, in other words protecting one's self-esteem, even by formidable deceit, which can involve talking down on less fortunate ones. After Freud it is thought that people use defense mechanisms to protect themselves from psychological harm, by such as denial, repression. projection an rationalization. It is seeking subjective wellness by tomfoolery. (2) Another person may show utilitarian attitudes. (3) Another may go for sound knowledge and proficiency. (4) Still another may value expressing key values or beliefs and help establish one's identity thereby.. These are four main groups reckoned with today.

Most attitudes may be learnt. How a person forms his or her attitudes has been explored in the light of various theories. One is the dissonance-reduction theory of Leon Festinger. It indicates that when a certain belief or behaviour is at odds, a person may then seek to adjust or change his or her belief to match the behaviour and at times the other way round. Another theory deals with one's self-perception.

Persuasion may change attitudes by arousing emotions. Demagogues use that idea. Emotions such as jealousy, disgust, indignation, fear, and anger may be triggered for the sake of a persuasive appeal.

Attitudes are likely to steer intentions and determine one's conduct, for example aligned to motivations of different sorts. Motivation is something that speaks of reasons for people's actions, desires, and needs. Motivation can also be taken to mean one's direction to behavior, or what causes a person to want to repeat a behaviour.

There is much to play on.

[Source: WP: "Attitude (psychology)"; "Motivation"]

Some attitudes may be called bad, but are good, and the other way round. In some cases that point shows up far too late in a life.

Attitudes tend to differ. For example, people's money attitudes differ. Which kinds of attitudes count in a life? If you have attitudes - most have - then seek to make the best out of them. Lift them if you can, or work on yourself for the sake of more reasonable ones, for example. That work could pay handsomely - who knows?

❦❦❦❦

A culture is about as great as its dreams. Some such dreams are caught and vented by artists.

A fair and noble attitude is a treasure that will amount to follow its owner if he or she does not fall from a tall place.

A good thing about the past is it's not all over.

A sober attitude is costly.

As a manager the important thing is what happens when you are not there. [With Ken Blanchard]

Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your reputation is just what others think of you.

Become a possibilitarian: raise your sights and see possibilities if you can. That could help some.

Being cynical is one step from being rotten, and is most often sign of having lost something of vital interest.

Creativity is our true nature . . . as normal and as miraculous as the blossoming of a flower. [Julia Cameron]

Don't be afraid to repeat yourself. You can do it well.

Having reasonable expectations counts a lot.

Hold on to your dreams if others will not have them. Further, some of your dreams are likely to contain masked seed ideas toward a better life.

If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself. [Rollo May]

If you make friends with yourself you will never get all abandoned.

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others but far enough ahead to motivate them. [John C. Maxwell]

Make the best use of your life, for Earth is only a temporary residence. [Cf. Rick Warren]

Many are anxious to improve their circumstances but quite unwilling to improve themselves also. That cannot be ideal in all cases.

Most people think that aging is hard, but that does not have to be. To be kind to yourself goes a long way toward that.

One had better rise from unrealistic attitudes to realistic ones, and from there on to costly and realistic ones, if that can be done.

Our attitude toward life may rebound on us. Or someone else's. Better be careful about who to be with.

People who are helpless, are rarely changing for the better for that reason.

People who do not experience self-love have little or no capacity to love others. [Nathaniel Branden]

Personal development is your springboard to personal excellence – an ongoing development. [Cf. Brian Tracy]

Persons of high self-esteem are not driven to make themselves superior to others. The sustaining focus is being who you are, and not necessarily being better than others.

Plunging into beer drinking is not a fully satisfying answer in the long run.

Sleep can work best soon after sound meditation.

Soldiers cannot risk being overly optimistic on the whole, but strive to be realistic to improve their chances of survival.

Some people achieve extraordinary results as if compulsion-driven.

Some people play on weaker people, such as dependants, by pressing attitudes onto them, attitudes that serve the proficient attitude-givers and not really the attitude-learners. Submissiveness and subordination can follow.

Some problems pose barriers to the growth and development of the human spirit.

Spiritual evolution occurs as the result of removing obstacles and cherished illusions and not actually acquiring anything new - remaining open to the light of Truth.

Students with optimistic and positive attitudes risk more disappointments than others. [Abstracted from Richard Gerrig' textbook on psychology (book data below)]

Success is at the end of the line to a worthy goal or ideal.

Successful men and women imagine a lot too.

Taking good care of the basics can make an enormous difference.

Tell your heart that great, romantic love is completed in great attachment and regard for each other.

The art of living takes a lot before one is alighted.

The better connections you and your lover make, the more real moments you should experience together.

The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. The grass is greenest where it is watered. [Robert Fulghum]

The more sinful and guilty a person feels, the less chance there is that he will be happy and law-abiding.

The tougher the times, the more clarity you could gain if you survive.

The world does not need tourists, by and large.

There are steps to be made on a path.

There are two kinds of people and those who get results. [A joke]

To sincerely want to make a change, seek to raise your standards. [Cf. Anthony Robbins]

To understand the heart and mind of other persons, stand to read their minds also, or you may get a lot of trouble from what you find out.

Value yourself and you will value your time. [Cf. M. Scott Peck]

When defeat comes, accept it for the time being, progress in time to a better position, and you could eventually conquer.

With fit training you may benefit a lot if your potential agrees somehow. For that reason, do not expect too much of a monkey, but learn to be realistic. Better accept the facts than deny them.

You do not become enormously successful without encountering some interesting problems. [Mark Victor Hansen]

You do not have to pay for what you receive for free. Similarly, you do not have to drown from falling into the water.

You encompass the world and what it can throw at you. So it can pay to be guarded and careful.