Episode 50: Watch Your Attitude - Part 2

Are you doing these critical things to help your child succeed academically? Take the quiz now to find out the important actions you can take to enhance your child's education. Go to my website, liberationthrougheducation.com quiz and take the quiz today. Foreign welcome to another episode of K12 Education Untangled. My name is Dr. Kim Fields, former corporate manager turned educational researcher and advocate, and I'm the host of this podcast. I I got into this space after dealing with some frustrating interactions with school educators and administrators, as well as experiencing the microdiscriminations that I faced as an African American mom raising my two kids who were in the public school system. I really wanted to understand how teachers were trained and what the research provided about the challenges of the public education system. 1 Once I gained the information and the insights that I needed, I was then equipped to be able to successfully support my children in their educational progress. If you're looking to find out more about current information and issues in education that could affect you or your children, then you're in the right place. Thanks for tuning in today. I know that staying informed about K12 education trends and topics is is important to you, so keep listening. On today's episode, I'll be discussing part two of my thoughts on being aware of and managing your attitude. There's an old adage that says attitude is everything, and it's true. Attitude determines our perspective on everything. It's important and it can make the difference between being disheartened and being encouraged. A poor attitude can have detrimental effects on your psyche and that can affect others. A bad attitude repels others, while a positive attitude attracts others. I'll address managing your attitude in five ways toward others, toward your work, toward life, toward helping or serving others, toward what you say or your words. I covered managing your attitude toward others and toward your work in part one on this topic. Check out episode 46 for that discussion, I'll address managing your attitude toward life, toward helping or serving others, and toward what you say. In this episode, let's review the definition of attitude. Merriam Webster defines an attitude as a mental position with regard to a state or to a fact or a feeling. Even an emotion toward a fact or state. A mental position would be like having a helpful attitude, whereas a negative or optimistic attitude is more about a feeling or emotion. So let's start with your attitude toward life. What is your attitude toward your life? Do you enjoy it overall, or does it seem like life is overwhelming for you? I'm guessing that every day isn't sunshine and roses. But I'm also saying that you won't feel overwhelmed all the time. What I'm talking about here is your general attitude toward your life. Does life happen to you or for you? This is highly dependent on your attitude. And as a caveat here, I'm speaking about attitude toward life in general, one that's not affected by mental health issues. If you're dealing with mental health issues, I encourage you to see a therapist or counselor for help. Life can throw a lot of different situations at us, and how we respond to those situations is usually based on our attitude. You can either view life as a burden or an opportunity for growth and self discovery. Research has shown that your attitude toward life can greatly affect your overall well being, happiness and success. Your attitude toward life is not something that can be easily changed overnight, but it is worth taking the time to reflect on and work towards improving. By adopting a more positive and optimistic attitude toward life, you can attract more positive experiences and opportunities. It's important to recognize that you have the power to change your attitude, no matter how difficult a situation or circumstance may seem. By cultivating gratitude, practicing mindfulness, and focusing on your strengths and accomplishments, you can shift your perspective and improve your outlook on life. Your attitude toward life influences every aspect of your life, so why not strive for positivity? Now let's look at your attitude toward helping or serving others. What's your attitude when called upon to help others? Do you begrudgingly provide the help or do you see it as an act of service? Your attitude toward helping or serving others matters. If you look at helping others as a way of blessing them, then in return you will be blessed. Don't you feel good when you help someone who really needs your assistance? Whether it's holding a door open for someone, or offering to help a physically challenged person, or helping with a household project, your positive attitude toward helping can provide a positive lift in your day. Helping others takes the focus off of you and puts that focus on someone else. As individuals, we all have a unique attitude toward helping others. Some of us believe in the power of selfishness, but that's not really helping others necessarily, whereas the power of selflessness and feeling fulfilled when we lend a helping hand is a better way to go. Others may view helping as a burden or consider it as something that holds them back from achieving personal goals. But have you ever stopped to consider the benefits of helping others? Research indicates that acts of kindness not only bring happiness to to the recipient, but also to the giver. What influences our attitudes toward helping others Our upbringing, social norms, and personal beliefs play a crucial role. Furthermore, that helping behavior is a product of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors refer to the feeling of fulfillment we get from helping others, while extrinsic factors include the social recognition that we may receive. With this in mind, it's important to reflect on our attitude toward helping others as it not only affects our relationships but also our overall well being. So next time you have an opportunity to help someone in need, consider what motivates your actions and how it impacts your outlook on life. And finally, let's discuss your attitude toward the words you say. Your attitude is reflected in the words you say. Words can be hurtful or harmful. They can be helpful or hindering. Having a callous attitude toward the words you use impacts the person to whom you direct those words. Sometimes the words are so foul that they cause irreparable damage. It's important to be mindful about your attitude when making word choices. Pay attention to the words you use. The words you utter are a reflection of what's in your heart and an encapsulation of your attitude. Mindlessly spewing hurtful words creates a negative environment that's of no benefit to anyone. Are you trying to hurt someone as a defensive move? When you feel you've been slighted, take the time to note your attitude before responding. The words you say have significant impact on how you are perceived by others and even how you perceive yourself. The way you communicate has a direct correlation with your success in relationships, at work and in life in general. Your attitude toward the words you say can determine whether you come across as competent, assertive or meek and passive. It's important to not only choose your words carefully, but to also be aware of the tone and the inflection in your words. This self awareness can make all the difference in and how you connect with others and how your messages are received. Ultimately, the power of your words lies heavily in your attitude towards them. Have you ever stopped to consider the impact of the words you speak? Your attitude towards those words have a powerful effect on those around you. A positive attitude towards your words impacts how others perceive you. Conversely, a negative attitude of indifference or hostility can quickly create tension and shut down communication. It's important to reflect on your attitude toward your words and work to cultivate a positive and thoughtful approach. Your words have the power to build up or tear down, so choose your attitude toward them wisely. Your attitude is everything. Having a negative attitude affects your health and your life. A positive attitude affects how you help or serve others your perspective on life and the words you choose. It's well worth the time, energy and effort to to be mindful of your attitude and to upgrade it when necessary. Part of the attitude adjustment is about self care, making mental adjustments as part of being self aware and implementing the tools of personal development as a way of life. As is the usual case for these thought sharing episodes in which I close with one or two quotes or a clean joke. In this episode, I conclude with a joke for your enjoyment. The joke is called Donkey Story. A pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won. The pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again and it won again. The local paper read the pastor's ass out front. The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race. The next day the local paper headline read, Bishop Scratches Pastor's Ass. This was too much for the Bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey. The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convention. The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day Nun has Best Ass in Town. The Bishop fainted. He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of that donkey, so she sold it to a farm for $10. The next day the paper read, none sells. Ask for $10. This was too much for the Bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild. The next day the headlines read, Nun Announces Her Ass is Wild and Free. The Bishop was buried the next day. The moral of the story is being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery and and even shorten your life. So be yourself and enjoy life. Stop worrying about everyone else's ass and just cover your own. You'll be a lot happier and live longer. If this is the type of subject matter and discussion that resonates with you, please follow my podcast on whatever service you're listening to this. Also, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave me a rating, a review, or a comment on Apple, Spotify, or podchaser. If you like this podcast, the best way to support me and help me grow it is by leaving a review. This helps my rankings and entices others to listen to the show and share this episode with anyone that you think would find it valuable. Be sure to tell your friends, family and community about my podcast. Additionally, you can connect with me on Instagram and Facebook with the handle Kimjfields thanks for listening today. I hope you'll come back for more K12 educational discussions with even more exciting topics to untangle. And be sure to stay tuned on the next episode. I'll be discussing school closures. Until next time. Aim to learn something new every day. Love my show. Consider being a regular subscriber. 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