A Kick in the Attitude: An Energizing Approach to Recharge your Team, Work, and Life

Chapter 17. A Kick In the Attitude Principle #15: Emotional Management—Tame Your Tiger or It Will Eat You

The attitude of self-control involves committing to thinking before you respond. It means responding in a healthy way, instead of reacting and creating regret.

Now more than ever, we live in reactive times. Spontaneous retaliation is easy. But it is infinitely more beneficial to your success and health to step back, think about your responses, and react to the situation or person in a constructive way.

People who exhibit self-control respond in a way that benefits them and the situation. They use wisdom power instead reactive power.

Coach Tony Dungy, who wrote the renowned book Uncommon, recognizes the need for patience and self-control in the way he approaches football, and it has led him to win Super Bowls as both a player and a coach, while also being highly respected as an inspirational icon. He values each man on the team, and treats each player with patience in order to nurture his best.

I remember a time when I was sitting at Chicago O'Hare airport waiting for my plane to board. The gate agent came over the intercom and said, "Ladies and gentleman, I am very sorry, but there is a mechanical problem that will cause a three-hour delay."

Even though I could hear the exasperated sighs of passengers, the overall attitude was, I would rather wait for three hours for the plane to be fixed than be in the air and discover there is a problem. Isn't that how most people would feel, after ...