Over the last couple years I have noticed that people’s answer to the question “how are you doing” usually gives you a pretty good gauge of their overall attitude about life.

No, I am not talking about people who answer “bad” or “not so good.” People who answer like that usually have a reason and will change their answer to the question when the problem goes away.

I am talking about people who answer “how are you doing?” with “could be better, could be worse,” something like that. Whenever I get to know people who answer this way I almost always find that they are pessimists, or at best, have given up on having control of their lives.

I hate to say it, but when people consistently give me the “could be better, could be worse” answer I usually try to keep my distance from them. People with this kind of attitude tend to be low performers and are usually the first people to give up…not the people I (or you) need around me (or you).

So why am I blogging about this? Because no matter what you do in life, your attitude is everything (pretty much). In business, in relationships, in whatever…if your attitude sucks, you are going to fail.

So if you are a better/worse person, take some time and work on your attitude – as your attitude improves, you will see the world in a much better light.

And hopefully, next time someone asks you how you are doing you will be able to smile and honestly answer “good.”

[Check out this barely-related post over at GapingVoid]