Mount Vernon High School

March 21, 2024 Attitude Impacts Performance There’s no disputing that attitude and performance are tied closely together, and it’s important for each of us to recognize the impact one has on the other. The truth is, there are two kinds of people in the world, and - whether you realize it or not - you are one of them. There are people who allow their performance to impact their attitude, and there are people who allow their attitude to impact their performance. It’s worth considering which category you fit into, and whether it’s putting you in the best position to earn the success you say you’re after. People who allow their performance to impact their attitude do so typically because it’s the easy and instinctive approach. This is how we’re naturally hard-wired to do it. These people show up like everyone else, excited and energized for their chance to perform. But when things starts to go wrong - when it doesn’t go the way they hoped, when they unexpectedly struggle, or when they face the challenges and adversity that are inevitably part of any winning pursuit - their demeanor deteriorates. Experience some success? They’re back up again. Another failure? Down they go. Their attitude is constantly riding that roller coaster of emotion through the peaks and valleys of their performance. The problem with this approach is that it’s much harder to do the thing winning requires you to do in the present when you’re still hung up on what happened in the past. Because attitude and performance are tied closely together, your negative energy makes it harder to get yourself out of the valley you’re in. Odds are that eventually you’ll find success again, and only then - by luck or good fortune - will your performance pull your attitude out of the gutter. The alternative is that you become one of those people who allow their attitude to impact their performance. This is not the easy or instinctive approach. In fact, it’s a downright difficult discipline to develop. People who do it this way show up excited and energized for their chance to perform, and are committed to maintaining that positive mindset, no matter what comes their way. When things start to go wrong - when it doesn’t go how they hoped, when they unexpectedly struggle, or when they face the challenges and adversity that are inevitably part of any winning pursuit? They don’t allow their demeanor to deteriorate. Experience success? Same mindset. Another failure? Still steady. They’ve chosen to stay off the roller coaster of emotion, even through the peaks and valleys of their performance. Why would anyone choose this more challenging approach? Because they really want to win. They understand that it’s much harder to do the thing winning requires you to do in the present when you’re still hung up on what happened in the past. They recognize that attitude and performance are tied closely together, and that positive energy and a steady approach makes it easier to do what they really want to do - to get out of the valley they find themselves in and back to being their best. They’re not interested in waiting on luck or good fortune to pull their performance out of the gutter. Their attitude is already doing it for them. Today’s a great day to consider the relationship your attitude and your performance have with one another. If you’re someone who’s serious about winning in any important area of life, then the formula is simple: your attitude should impact your performance, not the other way around. That’s not the easy or instinctive approach, and it is a difficult discipline to develop. But that’s probably proof, isn’t it, that this is the way of the champion, and the best way to earn the success you say you’re after. -Travis