If your loved one needs to improve his attitude, you can help!
Do you enjoy being around someone with a bad attitude? I certainly do not.
You can help someone you care about improve their bad attitude. I used to teach special education high school students. Most had been in car accidents and bike accidents and had just been released from a medical facility. They had just relearned how to dress, eat, and care for themselves. Now they had to relearn how to read so they could pass the state competency exam at the end of the school year. They were angry about their current life circumstances and most had bad attitudes. After I helped them improve their bad attitude toward life, I was able to teach them to read. And the majority of them did pass the competency exam at the end of the school year.
Here is my guide for changing a bad attitude to a good one.
First, a “bad attitude” does not mean someone who fails to smile or laugh. It means something entirely different.
What is the difference between a bad attitude and a good attitude?
Having a bad attitude does not mean a person frowns all the time, nor does having a good attitude mean that someone smiles all the time.
A person with a bad attitude has some distinct traits.
- Believing that there is always something wrong with others, not with himself. The problem is always someone else’s fault.
- Being unwilling to do what might improve a situation.
- Lacking consideration for others’ feelings and how his behavior impacts others feelings.
A good attitude is exactly the opposite. Someone with a good attitude looks for the real source of the problem, even it is within himself, and tries to improve the situation. He considers others’ feelings and how his behavior impacts other’s feelings.
Someone with a good attitude may not smile most of the time and someone with a bad attitude may not frown all the time. The expression on a person’s face may not truly express his attitude.
So how can you improve a loved one’s bad attitude?
To improve a bad attitude, give your loved one a reason to care. Word pictures are the best way to do this.
Word-pictures are more than clichés, mission statements and inspirational sayings. They are short narratives, stories that communicate on several levels. The best word-pictures use imagery to convey values, unite listeners and simplify complex ideas.
Word pictures connect what a person needs to do with the bigger picture of life. Passionate people– the self-starters and the go-getters – already know this and live it every day. Word pictures motivate others and give a sense of purpose.
To create an effective word picture for a particular person, observe the person. What are his interests? What does he truly enjoy doing? Even the most negative person enjoys doing something. After you have identified what interests the person, find interesting and motivating stories that contain that interest. Modify them to suit the person you are trying to help and to convey your message. Then practice saying it in front of a mirror.
After you have practiced painting your word picture in front of a mirror a few times, paint it for the person you are trying to help. You might have to paint more than one word picture before his bad attitude improves. Remember that persistence is the key in this endeavor.
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No one can tell you exactly how to paint a word picture to help the negative person you know. But I can tell you this. Winston Churchill was a master of word-pictures. All great leaders have this ability, to one degree or another. Martin Gilbert documented Churchill’s powerful word pictures in his book, Churchill: The Power of Words. It is a good book to read to learn this important skill.
Parents, you can use this technique to help your child!
Enable your loved one to soar like an eagle over storms! Help him improve his attitude!
Let the encouraging words in these near a river posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
Don’t say “I can’t”. Say “I can” instead!
Do you want to practice positive parenting?
Good communication skills help all kinds of relationships!
Remember that love is the most powerful force in the universe!
If you enjoyed this post, remember that BJ writes children’s books.
Her encouraging children’s eagle
near a river common core reading book
is available on Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.
Buy BJ’s near a river encouraging eagle reading book
for a child you care about today!