This episode is on Chapter 4 – Success Factor 1: Positive Attitude.
What have I been doing with all of my time?! It has been months since I posted last on our Lance Armstrong book study. I hope you haven’t given up either and have been reading along. In case you missed the previous episode, we are reading from the book, “How Lance Does It” by Brad Kearns“.
The concept of a positive attitude has been such an important concept for me during my life. I understood the impact a negative attitude could have from a young age. During 5th grade math class I had to solve a dreaded word problem at the blackboard in front of the class. Well, little Christopher came up with the wrong answer. That was bad enough, but instead of turning the event into a positive learning experience the teacher criticized me and made fun of me in front of the class and told me she wouldn’t want to shop in my grocery store “because you would probably rip me off!” I still remember the class laughing at me. I was kind of amazed that a nun even knew the phrase “rip me off”……
Have you ever embarrassed yourself or been embarrassed Royally? Have you carried around a memory that still makes you cringe when you think about it? Have you had songs rejected, perhaps laughed at? Did you ever sing off key? Forget your lyrics? Loose the groove?
Well, the good news is that bad stuff happens to everybody, you and me included. How do you take the bad and use it for good? For one thing – Try to remember what people say or do to you is all about them. It is not about you.
Anyway, lucky for you, that is exactly what this chapter is all about.
Lance Armstrong has been criticized mercilessly during his cycling career. Especially intense were the allegations, probably from jealous competitors and their sponsors that he used steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. “Doper!” How has he managed to survive the criticism and seemingly thrive during all of it and go on to blow our minds? Since the book study’s focus is to consider what we might learn from Lance’s life and apply it to our music, we must ask ourselves: If I have been, or will be, criticized mercilessly during my music career, how can I survive and more importantly thrive in spite of it?
The key, the first piece of body armor that we need is a POSITIVE ATTITUDE. Okay then, how do we get one?
Page 63 of the book gives an excellent example of how pervasive negativity can be in our society in general and in all of us. The Brad Kearns tells a story of a muggy day at the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s Ride for the Roses weekend to celebrate and support cancer survivors. Lance had just arrived and had fallen victim to an allergy attack and a series of sneezing. Brad wrote, “The air seemed visibly heavy and dirty, and my runs along the beautiful Lake Austin trail downtown felt sluggish and hindered by constricted lungs. I remarked to Lance, ‘I can’t believe how bad the allergies are here! I don’t see how you can even train, I mean…..’ At which point Lance paused his pen, looked at me right in the eye and said, ‘Quit bitching.’ I was a little taken aback…….Upon further reflection, I realized that I had learned a valuable lesson. How dare I complain about e weather, to a cancer survivor, at a gathering of cancer survivor, in a beautiful town like Austin! …..Even a seemingly inconsequential subject like your attitude about the weather deserves to be challenged and reframed into something positive.”
“Everyone wants to know what I’m on. I’m on my bike six hours a day. What are you on?”
The following is a summary of the major points in Chapter 4. Steps to Develop Success Factor 1: POSITIVE ATTITUDE:
- Make attitude a choice. Regardless of external circumstances, attitude remains the most powerful and empowering choice you can make. Make the choice to be honest, correct, and real in dealings with yourself and others, especially in the face of difficult circumstances. Cultivate a healthy, balanced lifestyle to support your positive attitude.
- Avoid “bad air”. You can achieve this by calling it out and breaking the cycle of emotional power struggles between loved ones and close associates. Even an innocent comment about the weather contributes to negativity and must be challenged and reframed. Take the high road and remain positive in the face of conflict and challenge. A traffic jam provides an opportunity to learn more about yourself and become a better corporate or athletic performer in the future and so on.
- Develop your air filter. In a physical, practical sense, you must prioritize your time and energy and eliminate the distractions that hamper your pursuit of goals and happiness. In an emotional sense, you must move on from difficult experiences, criticism, and other setbacks. Focus on the positive elements of the challenges that you experience and eliminate the negatives. This is especially relevant because we are not perfect. If you enjoy a decadent slice of cheesecake for dessert in conflict with your diet, instead of feeling negative about it, just enjoy it as an element of a happy, balanced life. Then strengthen your commitment to emphasize a diet of healthy, natural foods.
- Practice. Developing the ability to remain positive requires repletion and reinforcement. Realize that an excessively stressful daily life brings great risk of burnout, exhaustion and consequent negativity. When you encounter bad air, don’t take things personally. Instead, draw strength from negative experiences by letting them go and choosing a positive attitude in the present.
The Tips For Musicians: The Lance Armstrong Method – Ch. 4 Positive Attitude by Hartzog Chris, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
