Do you have a winning attitude? Winning, whether in sports, work, or life, is first and foremost about doing what is right, teamwork, diligence, talent, and possessing the right attitude. It is not about whining, carping, complaining, blame shifting, pointing fingers, becoming cynical. or endlessly recounting "coulda, woulda, shoulda" opportunities that needlessly slipped away. Over many years, I am convinced that one of the many important traits we should strive to possess is resiliency. Almost always built upon a positive, contagiously enthusiastic, can-do attitude (a topic I shared a few thoughts about in an October 2009 blog posting https://dap.dau.mil/career/log/blogs/archive/2009/10/19/contagious-enthusiasm.aspx), resiliency is first and foremost the ability to bounce back when things go wrong.

Although admittedly not a particularly original thing to say, I have long-since reached the conclusion that a basic truth in life is that character is forged in the fire of adversity. And every one of us, whether individually or collectively, experiences adversity in our lives. Maturity, character, and personal growth are developed and demonstrated most clearly in those moments -- not when things are easy or going well, but when we stumble, fall or face moments of trouble and failure. How we choose to respond most clearly indicates what we're made of. Do we become angry, resentful, bitter, cynical, or vindictive? Do we let our emotions rule the day? Or do we pause, let the natural emotion of the moment pass, think logically through the causes and potential solutions, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, hold our heads high, and positively, confidently, and yes, enthusiastically move on? Personally, I prefer the latter, and encourage you to strive to do the same. If you do, you, your organization, and those around you will absolutely be the better for it.

Finally, permit me commend to you two of among my favorite quotes which directly relate to this subject:

"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." -- President Calvin Coolidge

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." -- President Theodore Roosevelt, "Citizenship in a Republic", Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Does this make sense? Agree? Disagree?