Attitude Shaping and Shifting: Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise which uses oxygen and sustains an elevated heart rate for several minutes at a time like walking or jogging is a huge strategy for shaping your attitude. Anaerobic activities like weight lifting do the same. In my darkest moments, I have learned to maintain a regular exercise schedule. Without question, exercise reduces stress and anxiety and elevates my mood to the point I can at least keep my head above water. It makes the good times even better, some days inducing a mild euphoria like an exercise high.

There may be multiple reasons for this but science seems to suggest that one is bio-chemical. Moderate exercise releases chemicals in the brain that do wonderful things for your mind and emotions. Synergistically, I believe this works with a sense of mastery or accomplishment that comes from knowing you did something good for your body. As a practical matter, exercisers weigh less than they otherwise would which means they can exert less energy on routine daily activities. Exercisers generally look better, all things being equal others respond to them better, and they often have more self confidence than they other wise would. They get sick less, recover quicker, and live longer. They usually spend less out of pocket on health care, especially later in life. They may qualify for health insurance or better health insurance which again means they pay less out of pocket. They can often purchase life insurance at a discount.

You don’t have to torture yourself either. Most of these benefits are available for walking 20-30 minutes a day. I’d write more… but I have to go exercise!

Attitude Shaping and Shifting: Acting The Part and Physiology

It’s been reported that actors and actresses who immerse themselves in a character in order to play a part sometimes actually take on the some of the psychological characteristics of the person they are playing. Apparently this can happen to the extent that they need some therapy to return to their core personality. For example, if they play a character who is deeply depressed they may actually become deeply depressed. Behavior, even pretend behavior becomes reality for them. Similarly, kids and young adults who immerse themselves in role playing games can actually struggle with identifying the real world. In some cases this has led to tragic consequences.

On the flip side, this can be good news. In some measure we can become more joyful just by acting cheerful. Have you ever been in a heated discussion with a spouse, friend, or parent only to have the phone ring? Not wanting to drag the caller into the trouble, you immediately change your tone, expression, and entire demeanor. Frequently the phone call changes your whole mind-body state and the trajectory of your day.

There is a place for honest grief after a serious loss. But sometimes we feel bad just because we have gotten into bad habits of physiology. Shift your physiology and your perspective may change almost immediately.

I find I think more constructively when I’m walking quickly with my head up, talking rapidly with a lot of inflection and enthusiasm in my voice, and smiling. If you struggle with smiling, stick a pencil or pen between your teeth and hold it for a few seconds. This simulates the physiology of the smile and can actually send signals to the brain that apparently releases chemicals that create a joy response. If you doubt this, try it right now.

If you are really having a bad day try skipping. It’s really hard to stay feeling bad when you’re skipping. My wife Susy, taught me about “sock slides”. Strip down to your bear stocking feet, take a good run, and then slide across a tile or hardwood surface. She is much better at this than I am but I still have fun.

Sing! We can sing because we’re happy… but we can also become happy because we sing. Try Opera. You don’t even have to know a song. Have a conversation in Opera. What ever you were going to say…. Just sing it in your best Opera voice. If you don’t have a good voice it’s even better… at least funnier. You might even want to have an Opera party where everybody sings to each other. Greet each guest at the door in your best Opera voice…. “Weeeeeeeelcooooooome toooooo ooooouuuurrr huuuumblllle hooooome”.
Make it up as you go. To get in the spirit check out Adam Sandler’s Opera Man skits on You Tube.

Sales trainer and motivator Zig Ziglar recommends rolling out of bed each morning, slapping your hands together, and enthusiastically saying, “This is a great day to go out and gettem”. I am a morning person, but even for me this is a little over the top. Still the principle is there. Start each day by taking control of your physiology. Act the part and perspective you would choose before you feel it. I prefer telling my wife I love her, walking purposefully to the coffee maker, and then out to retrieve the paper…. Okay… in case a neighbor is reading… some mornings I stumble, but I still have a plan.

For the servant sales person I think there is a physiology and posture that will suit you. You may have figure out what it looks like over time on your sales calls. It’s a blend of physically demonstrated humility, confidence, competence, and cheer. It may need to morph some from call to call as you ask yourself, “What does this customer or client need from me right now?”

Attitude Shaping and Shifting: Poetry Meditation and Memorization

Poetry memorization is not as popular in this generation as it has been in past ones. Other than the memorization that comes with remembering song lyrics and a few lines from Dr. Seuss I think it has almost ceased to exist. I’m kind of ambivalent about this… in fact I hesitate to write about it here… and now that I’ve started I’m not sure which direction to take. Clearly, it’s not my deal.

Still I think poems have been great shapers of perspective in the past and can be re-harnessed in this and future generations. I mentioned Dr. Seuss. I think his lines from Horton have actually enhanced a decision or choice on occasion. I hear them over and over in my head just as I did as a kindergartener on Captain Kangaroo some 45 years ago…

“I meant what I said
And I said what I meant,
An Elephant faithful,
One hundred percent.”

I memorized a short one some time my early twenties. It comes to mind now and then when I am frustrated about some circumstance going on in my life.

Two men in jail
Standing behind bars,
One saw mud
The other saw stars

This short one serves as kind a kind of inspirational warning encouraging us all to play a bigger game in life:

Some men die by shrapnel
And some go down in flames,
But most men perish inch by inch,
Playing little games.

When I moved away from home for a short time, this one seemed to resonate with my heart:

Grieve not for me,
who am about to start
a new adventure.
Eager I stand,
and ready to depart,
me and my reckless, pioneering heart!


I keep a few longer ones on file, but have never gotten around to memorizing them. Like I said, it’s not my deal. But if you think it might be yours, give it a shot. Stick an inspirational verse on a 3x5 card and carry it around with you to look at through out odd moments of the day.

Attitude Shaping and Shifting: “Maxim”ize Your Life

Maxims are just short pithy quotes or sayings designed to convey a truth or principle of life. I recommend collecting and storing the good ones by subject and memorizing the best ones. They will elevate your thoughts, shape your perspectives, and alter your behavior over time. Winston Churchill wrote, “Quotations, when engraved upon the memory give you good thoughts.” And Samuel Johnson, “He is a great benefactor of mankind who contracts the great rules of life into short sentences, that may easily be impressed on the memory, and so recur habitually to the mind.”

You should collect and memorize the ones that resonate and have meaning for you but here are some of my favorites:

"When predictability goes up, impact goes down."
Howard Hendricks

"You have a strategy that is perfectly designed to get the results you are getting."
Andy Stanley

"Every adversity carries with it the seed for an equal or greater benefit."
W. Clement Stone

"It’s your job as a leader to create an atmosphere that… transforms antagonism into creative energy."
John Kao, Harvard Business School

“He who can copy can do.”
Leonardo da Vinci

“The way we see the problem is the problem.”
Stephen Covey

"It is possible to move a mountain by carrying away small stones."
Chinese Proverb

"I have a plan of action, but the game is a game of adjustments."
Mike Krzyzewski, Basketball Coach, Duke University

"I wake up so excited I can’t eat breakfast."
Stephen Spielberg, Film Maker

"I tap dance to work each morning."
Warren Buffet

You can find another set listed in the right hand side-bar of this blog that specifically have to do with selling.

Also, some of the most powerful maxim’s you can memorize are found in the Bible. Over the years I have committed dozens of these to memory:

“Be bold and strong and remember the Lord your God is with you where ever you go.” From Joshua 1:9
(I have recited this one over and over as I was walking into tough cold calls)

“For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

“All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:28

“A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.” Proverbs 15:1

Attitude Shaping and Shifting: Affirmations

Affirmations are short statements that say the things you want to exist as though they already do. They are designed to shape and shift your belief system about yourself and the nature of life in general. Many trainers, coaches, and counselors are fans of this strategy and it can be helpful for a lot of people.

After having said that, they are not solve alls or magic wands that necessarily alter and shape reality to your liking. In my own experiments, I also find they are more effective if you have plenty of evidence to support their truthfulness. Affirmations will not overcome the laws of nature or over ride the will of God. Gravity still exists no matter how many times you affirm your ability to fly unaided by an airplane or other device. I will not become a super star in the NBA no matter how often I affirm it. Affirmations will not make up for lack of talent, height, or other requirements. Affirmations as a technique have also gotten deeply entrenched in New Age philosophies that can do damage. They can range from the mildly humorous to the ridiculous. Shirley McClain’s affirmation that she is god or you are god doesn’t make it so.

Affirmations may however enhance talent and gifting and reinforce helpful beliefs that will create a better more successful life. I recommend affirmations that are rooted in reality. To do this, make a list of your strengths. What are your talents? What skills do you possess? What are you passionate about? Write the answers to these questions down and turn them into affirmations.

If you have a talent for oral communication and have honed your skills as a communicator write:

I am a great presenter!

If you are competitive and like trying to figure out how to win in a marketplace full of competitors write:

I love to compete and win!

If you have a desire to truly serve your customers write:

I am a servant salesperson who consistently takes care of my customers!

It is much more effective to tell yourself the truth. Some suggest taking a weakness and essentially lying to yourself about it, believing that over time the affirmation will take hold, thus turning the weakness into a strength. I’m not saying this has never happened, I just have my doubts.

Everyone reading this has plenty of strengths. Make a list, turn it into an affirmation, and try reading them daily. See if it doesn’t shift your thinking and send a surge of enthusiasm and energy pulsing through your body.