Have you ever tried to rotate the position of a spinning gyroscope. It’s not as easy as expected.

What’s more the faster the gyroscope is spinning, the harder it is to change it’s “position or bearing.”

Now, for those of you who have studied personal development expert Earl Nightingale – whether directly or indirectly through his mentee, recently deceased Bob Proctor, you know that “position or bearing” is a term of art used in Nightingale’s definition of ATTITUDE.

Attitude is defined as the position or bearing as indication action, feeling, or mood.

Nightingale continues to explain:

And it is our action, feeling, or mood which determines the actions, feelings, or moods of others toward us. And which control to a surprising extent our success or failure.

Ok, so tenuously do you see that there seems to be some sort of connection between a gyroscope with it’s chief aspect of “rigidity in space” visa-a-vis its position or bearing and our interactions with others, and hence why I am posting this here in the category: “Love Others?”

No? Well, then stay with me!

Our lives and the personality which each of us present over the course of any one day of our lives can be likened to a full rotation of existence, right?

This is quite literal, because each day is quite literally a full rotation of the earth.

Each of us has no more and no less than that rotation to complete our intended activities before the commencement of a new rotation.

And again, what is it about a gyroscope which creates rigidity? Yes, the speed of rotation.

But it is the speed of rotation which generates this rigidity which with respect to a particular position or bearing which is hard to change.

Ok, great!

So now, think of those folks who with respect to their actions, feelings, or mood have a positive position or bearing which they rigidly hold as their attitude?

Well, according to Nightingale, this determines their success because their positive attitude determines the actions, feelings, or mood of others toward them.

Correlatively, someone with a bad attitude is going to create enmity, a situation of “misery enjoys company,” or both vis-à-vis others instead.

Speaking from painful experience, one if not the hardest things to do, is to change from a bad attitude to a positive one.

There are probably several reasons why, but some of the most prominent seem to be:

  1. It’s hard to identify our own attitude. This is because attitude is a gestalt of aggregate number of our actions, feelings, and moods.
  2. Our environment, particularly with respect to those with whom we are surrounded, significantly affects our attitude.
  3. Old habits quite simply die hard even when they are easily identified (which here again “rotating back” to the first point, they are uneasily identified).

Ok, so then do we just give up? If we have a bad attitude, does that mean we are now doomed to a failed fate?

No, intellectually, I would suggest identifying a recurring – i.e. repeated problem – and identify what typically happens in that situation.

Let’s say that it is that you get yelled at by the boss for being late each morning to work.

Well, then figure out what typically happens which causes you to be late.

As someone who continues to have this problem, I can tell you that though it helps somewhat, whether I wake up earlier or had packed my bag and put out the clothes the night before doesn’t make me on time.

Quite simply, I am programmed to be late.

There is something in my subconscious programming which has me habitually running late.

And this is the scariest thing, most people do not know how to reprogram themselves so as to replace poor habits with good ones.

The answer, unsurprisingly, is “spaced repetition” of a new an better idea which contradicts the former one.

Hmm? “Spaced repetition?” Again, that sounds a bit like the “over, and over, and over again” which is witnessed by a gyroscope?

And that is EXACTLY the point. Through our habits, those activities that we do repeatedly, and do so in our own specific ways, we define our respective attitudes.

So, with this in mind, what is it that you have to do to change your current rigidity in space with respect to your position or bearing?

First, slow down, but ideally not completely stop your rate of rotation, identify clearly the attitude you want to have and how you want to be, and then start up again “spinning” along that position or bearing.

Specifically, cultivate the habits that the positive person you want to be has and act on them now.

These habits will then work for you just as gyroscopes work to assist airplanes in their navigation as cybernetic devices to keep you on course to your destination.

Don’t worry if a lot of the friends and perhaps your family too aren’t going to be on board for the ride.

This is your life! All you have right now is the moment at hand, so live it to the fullest with a good attitude.

Make it a habit that is so strong that it becomes for you rigidity in space.

In that way, your success is preordained!

Have a great Saturday! Keep spinnin’ and grinnin’!