Posts Tagged ‘psychology’

Attitude is what determines altitude

Friday, May 11th, 2007

A lovely story in the news today tells how blind adventurer, Miles Hilton-Barber, completed a journey half way around the world in his microlight. In an interview he remarked that “The only thing holding me back was five inches, the distance between my ears. Attitude is what determines altitude.”

After losing his sight nearly 25 years ago, Miles decided to stop thinking about all the things he could no longer do as a blind person and instead concentrate on all the things he could do. He firmly believes that you don’t need to let the past determine your future, and that every setback can bring a benefit.

His message is simple – “The only limits in our lives are those we accept ourselves.”

What could YOU achieve if you thought the same way?

Expecting the best is best

Monday, April 3rd, 2006

Scientists from Seattle Pacific University, and the University of Washington have disproved the old adage that the lower your expectations, the happier you should be following success and the less disappointed you should be following failure.

In fact, the opposite turned out to be true. Students were asked how well they expected to do in word association tests, and then questioned again afterwards. Of those who did poorly in the tests, those who expected to do well, but in fact performed poorly, felt better about themselves than those who expected to do poorly and were proved right…

The two tests performed in the study concluded that there was little evidence to support the old adage, and found that those people who thought they would do well tended to be more positive thinking in general.

(Cognition & Emotion, Volume 20, Number 1/January 2006)

Enjoy this post? Leave a comment below and add to the discussion. Thanks!