Many books out there talk about how attitude is the key to everything. That if we just believe and stay positive that things will turn out alright.
Unfortunately they are forgetting one small thing – aptitude.
Aptitude is your ability to do something, while attitude is how you approach doing something.
A positive attitude will always enhance the work you do, but it can never replace your ability to do it.
If you do not have the skills needed for a project, regardless of how upbeat you are, the chances of you succeeding are slim to none.
Whatever field of work you are in, there are certain skills we need.
- A web designer needs knowledge of html and typing skills.
- A teacher needs to know the material and have communication skills.
- A basketball player needs to understand the plays and be able to adjust quickly.
But these are just the bare minimum needed to do our job, in order to be successful we need more.
More skills, which are learnable, and a good attitude, which isn’t. Both help us differentiate ourselves from others.
We’ve all had teachers who knew the material but just couldn’t teach or who knew the material but had no passion. In either case they failed to do their job.
The same concept applies to relationships, parenting, sports and business.
Aptitude and attitude both require hard work. We must each invest the time to learn what is needed, and then learn even more.
On top of that we must always try to keep a positive attitude which will act as a wildcard of sorts, enhancing our skill set.
Staying positive is a good thing, but when we are avoiding reality we’ll run into problems.
It’s ok to have our heads in the clouds as long as we keep our feet planted firmly on the ground.
Aptitude + Attitude = Success.
Adrian Shepherd