You practiced over and over again; you wanted it more than anyone; you studied the hardest, but in the end, you still didn't succeed. Each time you ask yourself, what happened and why. What I might suggest is that did you have a wrong attitude?
Positive attitude helps us cope with the daily affairs of life more easily. It brings optimism into our life, and makes it easier to avoid worry and negative thinking. If we adopt it as a way of life, it will bring constructive changes into our life, and makes us happier, brighter and more successful. With a positive attitude we will see the bright side of life, become optimistic and expect the best to happen. It is certainly a state of mind that is well worth developing and strengthening.
So next time, you will practice just as much, still want it just as much, will study just as hard. What will be different is that you will also put on a smile. A positive attitude might just be the one thing that you need to succeed!
Whether you’re in the business world, military, sports, or even government, you’ve read, heard, seen, etc. many opinions on the importance of attitude in performance. While a few authors may downplay attitude as a primary driver of performance, many more believe it is the key ingredient in high production. There are reasons for this strong belief.
World famous statesman Winston Churchill put this issue in wonderful and simple perspective when he said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
Understand that attitude will always make a big difference – for better or worse. A poor attitude will make the same level of difference as a good attitude. However, your customers, your company, and you will not be pleased with the effect. Your attitude will affect your performance, whether you want it to or not.
Even the simplest, most neutral statements you make will create judgments – conscious or subconscious – by listeners. A speaker’s attitude will affect the listener, positively or negatively, just as strongly as the spoken words. In a customer service environment, even delivering bad news can generate a positive customer response if you have a great attitude, displaying empathy, concern, and interest in the customer’s feelings.
If you’re convinced that attitude rules, you might become a “positive attitude guru” if you use some of the following tips and practice your delivery until it becomes automatic. Here are some suggestions that you can use starting tomorrow.
“Our attitude toward life determines life’s attitude towards us.” We’ve all heard about the power of our attitude, and that it’s our attitude that determines how much we succeed in life.
“我们对生活的态度决定了生活对我们的态度。” 我们都听说过态度的力量，也知道正是我们的态度决定了我们在生命中会有多成功。
If you look around you, you will see that people with a positive attitude enjoy life more and are generally happier and more successful than those who walk around grumpy and pessimistic. Our attitude is the driving force in our lives—it can either push you to do great things or pull you down to your demise.
如果你看看周围，你就会发现那些以积极的态度享受生活的人们，比那些暴躁和悲观的人更开心而且更成功。我们的态度是我们生命中的动力——它可以推动你做伟大的事情，也会把你带向灭亡。
While it’s true that humans are born with certain tendencies or orientations, our personalities and attitudes are developed through our relationships and experiences. Our attitudes begin to develop in childhood and constantly evolve and change over the years through day-to-day interactions and experiences.
然而，人类天生就有某些发展趋势或方向，我们的个性和态度会随着我们的人际关系和经历而不断成熟。我们的看法从孩提时代开始，并多年来在每天的交往和经历中不断地发展和改变。
All the things that you have been through, all the people you have met and interacted with can have an impact on your attitude. If you think that all these factors have molded you into a person with a poor attitude towards life, there is no need to worry as there is always an opportunity for change. Let me share with you how I did it.
你所经历的所有事情、所见过并打交道的所有的人会影响你的态度。如果你认为这些所有的因素都让你对生活有了消极态度，不要担心，总有机会改变的。让我与你分享一下我的做法。
5 Simple Things That Can Help Change Your Attitude
五个简单的做法让你改变态度。
1. Identify and understand what you want to change.
确定并了解你想要改变的事。
The first step towards change is clearly understanding what needs to be changed. Setting clear goals is the key to success in any endeavor. When it comes to changing your attitude, you need to do an honest and in-depth self-evaluation so you could point out exactly which of your traits need to be improved or totally changed.
改变的第一步是清楚了解什么需要改变。设立明确的目标是所有努力的关键。当需要改变态度时，你需要做坦率和深入的个人评估，这样才能确切的指出你需要改进或彻底改变的特质。
2. Look for a role model.
寻找一个榜样角色。
We all need to know that what we’re trying to accomplish can in fact be achieved; that we can be more optimistic, more social or more patient. Find someone who has the kind of attitude that you want to have, and let his or her life give you inspiration and encouragement to move beyond your temporary failures in your journey towards becoming a better person.
我们都需要知道我们事实上试着完成的是什么;这样我们就能更乐观、更爱社交也更有耐心。找到一个有你想要的态度的人，并让他/她的生活给你激发和鼓励，来打败你在变得更好的途中暂时的失败。
3. Think about how your attitude change will affect your life.
想想你的态度改变后将如何影响你的生活。
To be able to hurtle through all the difficulties that lie ahead of you in your journey towards self betterment, you need to figure out exactly what this supposed change could bring to your life. Will changing your attitude mean a happier family or social life? Will a change in your attitude mean a more successful career or business? Fix your mind on the things that would come as a result of your attitude change and you will have a greater chance of reaching your goal.
在你想要变得更好的旅程中，想要度过所有的困难，你必须正确认识这些改变会对你的生活带来什么。改变你的态度是否意味着更幸福的家庭或社交生活?态度的改变是否意味着事业或生意的更成功?将注意力集中于能让你的态度带来改变的事上，你会有更多的机会达成你的目标。
4. Choose the right company.
选择正确的同伴。
As they say, “Bad company corrupts good character.” You don’t expect yourself to be able to change if you go on surrounding yourself with people who possess all the negative traits that you want to change. Consider befriending new people, especially those who are optimistic and have a healthy attitude towards life. You will see that your effort to change will be easier with these kinds of people as friends.
正如他们所说，“坏伙伴吞噬好习惯”。如果你周围仍都是性格不好的人，你不要指望自己能改变。考虑交新朋友，特别是那些乐观的、有积极生活态度的朋友。你会发现和这些类型的朋友在一起，为改变所做出的努力会更小。
5. Believe that you are able to change.
相信自己可以改变。
Often, the greatest obstacle between us and our goals is ourselves or our inability to trust in what we are able to do. If you don’t believe in yourself or believe that you or your life can change, it just won’t happen—you will either never start, or give up quickly so you won’t have even given yourself the opportunity to succeed.
通常，我们与目标之间最大的障碍是我们自己，或者是认为自己没有能力改变。如果你不相信自己或者自己的生活能够改变，改变就不会发生——你将永远不会开始，或者会很快结束，因此你将不会给自己成功的机会。
It cannot be denied that a positive attitude is very important for living a successful and satisfying life, so it is only right to strive to have a positive attitude. I have struggled with reforming my negative attitude as well, but over the years, through persistence and self evaluation, I have managed to change for the better. You can too!
不可否认，积极的生活对于成功或舒适的生活非常重要，因此需要努力有个积极的生活态度。我也与消极的生活态度斗争了很久，但多年来，通过坚持和自我评价，我已经努力变得更好。你也可以!
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone asked him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
杰里真是个让人喜欢得不行的家伙。他总是心情愉快、情绪高涨，总能说出积极的话来。每当别人问他一切可好时，他就回答：“好得不能再好了!”
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
他是个与众不同的经理，有好几个服务员都跟着他在不同的餐厅做过。他们跟着杰里是因为他的生活态度。他天生善于激励人，如果哪个雇员不走运了，杰里就会告诉他要往好的一面看。
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
我对他的生活态度深感好奇，于是有一天我走到杰里跟前问他：“我不明白!你不可能事事都顺心，你是怎样做到一直都这么积极乐观的呢?”
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
杰里回答说：“每天早上醒来后我对自己说，‘杰里，今天你有两个选择。你可以选择一个好心情，也可以选择一个坏心情。’我选择了好心情;每次有坏事发生时，我可以选择成为受害者，也可以选择从中及吸取教训，我选择了从中吸取教训;每当有人向我抱怨时，我可以选择听他们抱怨，或者给他们指出生活中积极的一面，我选择了指出生活中积极的一面。”
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
“对，话是没错，可是做起来可不容易。”我说。
"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
杰里说：“其实也容易，生活就是由很多选择组成的，出去那些不值一提的事情，那么生活中的每件事都是个选择。你可以选择如何回应这些事件。你可以选择周围人影响你心情的方式。你可以选择有个好心情或是坏心情。重点是：你可以选择如何来过你的生活。”
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
我仔细地考虑着杰里的话。不久后，我离开餐厅业去追求个人发展。我们失去了联系，但每当我对生活做抉择而非被动接受生活时，我就会想起杰里。
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him.
几年之后，我听说杰里犯了个在餐饮业不该犯的错误：一天早晨，他没关后门，三个持枪匪徒走进来，拿枪指着他。当他们试图打开保险箱时，他由于紧张，手从保险锁上滑下来。匪徒紧张之下开枪打穿了他的手，接着又有三枚子弹正中他的腹部。
Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
幸运的是，杰里很快就被人发现了，他们很快将他送到了当地的伤疗中心。经过18小时的手术和几星期的悉心护理，他终于出院了，体内还残留着子弹的碎片。
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
那件事之后六个月后我见到了杰里。我问他身体怎样了，他答道：“好极了!想不想看看我的伤疤?”我没看他的伤疤，但我问他在抢劫案发生的时候，他脑子里在想些什么。
"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
杰里回答说：“我首先想的是我要是把后门锁上就好了，但是躺在地板上的时候，我想到自己有两个选择：我可以选择生，或选择死。我选择了生。”
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
“你难道一点也不怕吗?你失去知觉了吗?”我问。
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, "He's a dead man." "I knew I needed to take action."
杰里继续说：“医生们很好，他们不断地告诉我我会好起来的。但他们推我进急救室时，我看到医生和护士脸上的表情，我觉得很害怕。他们脸上写着‘这个人要死了。’我知道我该采取些行动了。”
"What did you do?" I asked.
“你做了什么?”我问。
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes," I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Bullets!"
“当时有个牛高马大的护士朝我喊：‘杰里，你对什么东西过敏吗?’‘有，’我喊回去。‘是什么?’她问。医生和护士们都停下来等我回答。我深深吸了口气，喊道：‘子弹：’”
Over their laughter, I told them. "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
“他们全笑起来，接着我对他们说：‘瞧，我选择要活下来。给我动手术，把我当成个活人而不是死人来医治。’”
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
杰里活了下来，部分原因是医生的医术高明，但更主要是因为他那不屈不挠的态度。
Attitude, after all, is everything.
毕竟，态度能决定一切。
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone asked him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
杰里真是个让人喜欢得不行的家伙。他总是心情愉快、情绪高涨，总能说出积极的话来。每当别人问他一切可好时，他就回答：“好得不能再好了!”
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
他是个与众不同的经理，有好几个服务员都跟着他在不同的餐厅做过。他们跟着杰里是因为他的生活态度。他天生善于激励人，如果哪个雇员不走运了，杰里就会告诉他要往好的一面看。
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
我对他的生活态度深感好奇，于是有一天我走到杰里跟前问他：“我不明白!你不可能事事都顺心，你是怎样做到一直都这么积极乐观的呢?”
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
杰里回答说：“每天早上醒来后我对自己说，‘杰里，今天你有两个选择。你可以选择一个好心情，也可以选择一个坏心情。’我选择了好心情;每次有坏事发生时，我可以选择成为受害者，也可以选择从中及吸取教训，我选择了从中吸取教训;每当有人向我抱怨时，我可以选择听他们抱怨，或者给他们指出生活中积极的一面，我选择了指出生活中积极的一面。”
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
“对，话是没错，可是做起来可不容易。”我说。
"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
杰里说：“其实也容易，生活就是由很多选择组成的，出去那些不值一提的事情，那么生活中的每件事都是个选择。你可以选择如何回应这些事件。你可以选择周围人影响你心情的方式。你可以选择有个好心情或是坏心情。重点是：你可以选择如何来过你的生活。”
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
我仔细地考虑着杰里的话。不久后，我离开餐厅业去追求个人发展。我们失去了联系，但每当我对生活做抉择而非被动接受生活时，我就会想起杰里。
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him.
几年之后，我听说杰里犯了个在餐饮业不该犯的错误：一天早晨，他没关后门，三个持枪匪徒走进来，拿枪指着他。当他们试图打开保险箱时，他由于紧张，手从保险锁上滑下来。匪徒紧张之下开枪打穿了他的手，接着又有三枚子弹正中他的腹部。
Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
幸运的是，杰里很快就被人发现了，他们很快将他送到了当地的伤疗中心。经过18小时的手术和几星期的悉心护理，他终于出院了，体内还残留着子弹的碎片。
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
那件事之后六个月后我见到了杰里。我问他身体怎样了，他答道：“好极了!想不想看看我的伤疤?”我没看他的伤疤，但我问他在抢劫案发生的时候，他脑子里在想些什么。
"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
杰里回答说：“我首先想的是我要是把后门锁上就好了，但是躺在地板上的时候，我想到自己有两个选择：我可以选择生，或选择死。我选择了生。”
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
“你难道一点也不怕吗?你失去知觉了吗?”我问。
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, "He's a dead man." "I knew I needed to take action."
杰里继续说：“医生们很好，他们不断地告诉我我会好起来的。但他们推我进急救室时，我看到医生和护士脸上的表情，我觉得很害怕。他们脸上写着‘这个人要死了。’我知道我该采取些行动了。”
"What did you do?" I asked.
“你做了什么?”我问。
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes," I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Bullets!"
“当时有个牛高马大的护士朝我喊：‘杰里，你对什么东西过敏吗?’‘有，’我喊回去。‘是什么?’她问。医生和护士们都停下来等我回答。我深深吸了口气，喊道：‘子弹：’”
Over their laughter, I told them. "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
“他们全笑起来，接着我对他们说：‘瞧，我选择要活下来。给我动手术，把我当成个活人而不是死人来医治。’”
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
杰里活了下来，部分原因是医生的医术高明，但更主要是因为他那不屈不挠的态度。
Attitude, after all, is everything.
毕竟，态度能决定一切。