Reigning in Your Thoughtlife
Have you ever compared horseback riding to leadership? It seems irrelevant, but stick with me here. Horses are controlled by the bit in its mouth. The rider pulls left and the horse goes left. Adversely, a slight pull to the right directs the horse in that direction. Such is the way of leadership. The leader is the rider whose influence directly affects the steering of the organization. There are many things that become important as the leader steers but his or her attitude is integral in that steering.
Attitude comes from within. Just as living a healthy lifestyle depends on what we feed our bodies, our attitude aptitude relies on what we feed our minds. Let's compare this idea of food to leadership. We feed on so many things in life when we’re hungry. Food for the body. Entertainment for the mind. Relationships for the soul. But for the leader, the most important component to feed is our attitude. It’s a product of our thoughts about life, people, and situations. We have to carefully discern and choose the menu of what we feed our thinking because those thoughts are raw materials that form a positive or negative attitude.
A culmination of thoughts yields an attitude about something. Husbands and wives may disagree, for instance, but negative thoughts about marriage will surely not lead to a happy marriage. What we sow, we reap! The opposite is true: choosing to think positively about marriage and a spouse will help construct a positive attitude. Our lives move in the direction of our strongest thoughts.
William James said that people will either act their way into feelings or feel their way into action. Acting, or choosing a path, can overcome a contrary feeling and even alter the feeling. Feelings deceive, don’t they? “I don’t feel like exercising…” We’ve all heard this before. But we can’t rely on feelings to get us to the mountaintop. Our actions, however, will get us there and will lead our feelings. Be the horse rider, not the horse. Be the leader of your mind. In other words, be proactive not reactive.
Mastering one’s attitude goes a long way. A good attitude feeds your culture. It quietly impacts your team. Good attitudes infuse a can-do, optimistic belief in people. The contrary is also true: poor attitudes sow discouragement, division, and fear. Negative attitudes won’t produce a positive culture. This begins with us! It begins with the thoughts we choose to think and meditate on. Be protective of your mind because your subsequent attitude will absolutely pervade the organization, for better or for worse.
What thoughts are influencing you and your attitude? Are you the rider or the horse?