Attitude, Aptitude, and Achievements

Regardless of what you think, you are always being judged.  Right now, reading this blog, you are judging me on multiple levels even if you don't know it.  Subconsciously you are searching for faults in my writing, or words and ideas that you can determine what kind of person I am.  And honestly, I enjoy that aspect of life.  The idea that no matter where you go or what you do good or bad, and being judged on it is something that keeps me on my toes.  Sometimes it causes me to rethink an action or phrase before I put it forth into the world.  Other times, I just don't care and I put it out there anyways.

I've been thinking about that aspect more and more, and I think I've narrowed down to three simple categories on which a person is judged.  Amazingly, I also managed to contain them into words beginning with A.  I feel accomplished because of it.  These are by in no means in any specific order, but all three come into play.

The first is ATTITUDE, or your demeanor and emotion towards the world at large.  Whether you are a person that is outwardly happy, mellow, or depressed, or perhaps you speak with a tone that makes you seem pompous, ignorant, intelligent, or angry.  Your attitude towards life and the people around you is a massive judging point.  There are many phrases that mirror this, such as "No one likes a party pooper." or "Don't be a douche."  I've found that on days when I have a more upbeat attitude, I feel generally better and tend to get more positive feedback from people.  On the days when I have a more mellow or even depressed attitude, I feel worse than I really am and get more negative feedback.  Getting more specific, I've found that people who have a positive look on their job, regardless of what they do, tend to do better in it.  They work harder, they get noticed, and they advance.  On the contrast, those that feel they have to be at their work and hate it, tend to slack off, and as their supervisors notice that and reprimand, their demeanor worsens and things spiral out of control until they lose their job.

The next is APTITUDE.   Now, most might think this is knowledge, but on the contrary, it's actually more like intelligence.  It's not what you know, but how you can put facts together or figure out and solve problems.  This is where talent lies.  It's very hard to put this category into a physical form outside of formal testing, but a way you can tell if someone feels you have a higher aptitude is if they give you a problem to solve, but don't hold your hand through it.  They allow you to solve it yourself.  Take for instance if your friends want you to plan a party for another friend.  If they feel you can handle it, they will allow you to take charge and delegate tasks to them if needed.  However, if they don't have that confidence, they may keep reminding you of the little things such as food, plates, etc etc until they know you have everything.

The last one is ACHIEVEMENTS. This is those physical or mental trophies of your knowledge.  Things you can show someone to say "Hey, I know what I'm doing."  Maybe it's a literal trophy that says you won a competition doing something.  Perhaps it's something you worked on that became known.  Maybe it's even something you challenged yourself with and managed to complete it.  It's something that showcases your ability to accomplish what you claim to be able to do.

I'll give you a personal example of how I'm judged on these three things daily.  When a customer comes into the story, the first thing they see is my attitude.  I'm smiling as I greet them, then offer assistance into finding what they are there to look for, possibly something they weren't even looking for.  That's attitude.  I often times get customers that don't know what they are looking for, so I proceed to ask them questions to narrow down to a few choices of items they may like.  That's aptitude.  When they get home and enjoy what they've selected, many times they come back and ask me for other recommendations, or even ask me if there is something that is outside their comfort zone to try. That, to me, is an achievement.  And that's just in selling wine.  The more that a customer comes in, the more that relationship between us grows, and the more they trust me to help them with their needs.  If they want to know how I know so much, I explain to them all the other 'achievements' I have earned, from the classes my job has sent me to in order to learn about wine and spirits, to the many tasting seminars I've earned the right to go to where I've tried all of these different wines.  If they ever need help planning for a party, they know I have the aptitude to help them get enough drinks and supplies to easily get them through it with ease.

It looks like a lot of work, and honestly, it is a little bit.  But succeeding in this world takes work.  But the hardest of these is not knowing what you need to or putting things together, but keeping up a good attitude with it all.  It's easy to get discouraged when there isn't instant gratification, or if you are always in the shadow of someone that is better at what you are trying to do.  But you have to keep your head up, and working hard at it.  Eventually, that positive attitude will bring great things, even if they come in small little increments.