The Impact of Attitude

This seems to be a lesson I am constantly relearning in life. Attitude has such a profound impact on people in seemingly insignificant situations - it's astounding. In two different positions, at two different colleges, I have seen the catastrophic effect that a negative attitude can have, but I have seen it now, from two very different angles.

While at Platteville, I was slowly introduced to negativity. It wasn't an immediate thing. I started as an annoyingly perky, full-of-life, young and crazy-ambitious person. (What most of you know as me...) But after a while, the edge of my perk had worn a little dull, my glow was a little dim, and my ambition had dwindled with a pure lack of motivation. But after two years, what caused it all to happen? Where did so much apathy and melancholy come from? Without pointing any fingers (because it certainly doesn't matter now anyway) it was the people and the environment around me in which I was forced to interact. And instead of fighting for my very being to thrive and succeed, I conceded to the consensus of the group and became what they already were - negative. And it took me a little bit of reflecting, but I think I've finally figured out why. It was easier. And surely it was. After all, everyone else was doing it. Why not jump in and become what everyone else thought was ok.

But it was a lie. It wasn't who I was, what I felt inside. I fell into a trap and couldn't get myself back out of it. It got to the point where I had to leave....had to...because I felt like I had betrayed myself.

Now, on the other side of the coin, entering a new position at UD, where negativity on some parts was already firmly in place before I ever arrived, I have viewed first-hand just how poisoning it can be. People learn attitudes. They are not born with negativity, grumbling, and anger. You don't see two and three year old children walking around complaining about everything in front of them. It is learned. Just like I learned it at Platteville, others have learned it at UD.

The most unfortunate part of this story is that for some reason, which I have not yet been made aware of, negativity and positivity are so very, very different. A person can pick up a negative attitude in seconds, echoing a single grumble of one that can become the chorus for many. But positivity is looked on with some sort of disdain, as if to say, "What's wrong with you?" As if I should, by nature, be negative which seems to me to be inherently against our nature.

Regardless of the scoffing, the pity-smiles, and all that comes with being markedly different, I will keep pressing forward. If someone can learn a negative attitude, even if it is the easy route, then they surely can learn a positive one, even if it takes a lifetime. A wise woman named Rosemary once said to me, "Never give up your power. It's what they want you to do." At first, I didn't know what she meant exactly, but I've come to understand. They want you to be miserable...to join Team Negative...because once upon a time, they did. But if you stand firm in the things you truly believe in, you hold the power.

So, think about it next time you start to grumble about today's lunch not being all that great or you go to blame someone for something you feel was not right. A few quick works of negativity rub off in seconds, but it could take years to undo it again. As for me, although certainly not devoid of all negative thoughts, I will work to be intentional with every action, word, and even thought, in hopes that one day, my impact will be felt and overcome what has been previously set into place. Not the easy road, by any means, but the right road, the one I truly believe in.