So far in discussing your internal filters, we’ve talked about values and beliefs.

The third internal filter in the diagram is attitudes.

Just to recap, your values form your beliefs and these translate into your attitudes.

Listen to the 3.50 minutes AUDIO if that is more convenient.

Attitudes are not as easy to recognize as your values and belief systems; they can be hidden and only surface when a situation really aggravates and your attitudes become obvious.

Attitudes are actually abstract ideas derived from groups of beliefs and values about any given subject.

You have an attitude about going to work, for example

• you could see your place of employment as a place where you enjoy going

• you love the work you do

• you like the people

• it’s a place you feel helps you to grow, and

• it’s not about the money

With all these positive feelings, your attitude about going to work will be one of positivity.

Conversely, if you don’t relate to any of the above when you think about where you work, your attitude towards going to work will be full of negativity.

What is your attitude towards each of the following:

• marriage or a partnership relationship

• euthanasia or natural death

• single sex parenthood

• politics

• religion

• spirituality

• having children or not

• cremation or burial

• homosexuality or heterosexuality

They are heavy, serious topics, aren’t they?  Easy to have very strong views/attitudes?

Whatever attitudes you have on any of the above topics, stem from the cluster of values that you have on each of them.

These attitudes that you have are not easily changed, as you often have these attitudes and can’t exactly explain why you have them or where they stem from.

You just have them.

Suffice to say that they are very deep-seated and if anyone were to tell you that you were wrong to have whatever attitude you hold, you would be deeply offended, at minimum.

It is often out attitude towards something that stands in our way all making changes or not for the Law of Cause and Effect states that every action creates an equal and opposite reaction.

If what you have been doing is not achieving the end result you desire, your attitude to it is more than likely holding you back, and that’s what needs changing.

In other words, if you don’t change your actions, you cannot change the result, and the only thing standing in your way will be your attitude.

You’ve often heard people say that someone has a terrible attitude; that actually summarizes how that person feels about the entire situation in question.

The opposite also holds true.

As stated above, attitudes are the hardest to recognize and shift as they are often covert.

Next we’ll look at Memories.