Most of us think we know the importance of a positive mental attitude, an attitude of mental toughness to get us through the hard times. Most of us will never have to put it to the test the way Gary Faris did. Gary was a Life Coach in California back in the 80’s, long before it became fashionable. At 38 he was still an enthusiastic athlete and competitive runner at a decent level. He was a very positive person and life was good for him, but then something happened that would test him to his limits.

One day while he was out running on a country road he was struck by a truck. The impact threw him 120 feet into a field. In the emergency-room the doctors weren’t even sure he would survive, such were his injuries. He had the first two of six operations that he would eventually need. When he was out of danger the doctors told him he would never walk normally again, and certainly would never jog, much less run.

Over the next two years Gary was in sports rehabilitation. He rebuilt his damaged body, overcoming incredible physical pain as well as the doubts of his doctors. Within three years not only was he walking normally but he was back running at a competitive level. The story of how he achieved this is a superb example of the power of a positive mental attitude.

Gary had always had an interest in sports fitness, now he turned that interest to sports-injury rehabilitation. Let’s face it, he had a very personal and compelling reason for doing so. Rather than complaining about the unfairness of life, he decided to analysis the core characteristics of those athletes who succeeded with their full rehabilitation. During his own physiotherapy he talked to those making good progress, and read about others to see what they had done. He looked beyond their stories to examine their underlying mental attitudes.

He found that there were six distinct mental patterns or characteristics that were possessed by every successful rehabilitated athlete that he had met or read about. So he applied them to himself. They were invaluable in helping him keep a positive mental attitude all through his sometimes painful rehabilitation program. This was in spite his medical team repeatedly telling him not to get his hopes too high about the eventual extent of his recovery.

After his complete recovery he published his research in professional journals across many fields. He was surprised and delighted with the response he got. As others used Gary’s insights with business clients, health professionals and even teachers found that these six mental patterns could be applied to a whole range of situations as diverse as parenting, pole vaulting and politics. They turned out to be the core characteristics of any positive mental attitude.

Here are the six mental patterns that Gary found?

1. Inner Motivation; 2. The Value of High Standards; 3. Breaking Down Goals; 4. Combining Present and Future Frames; 5. Personal Involvement;  6. Self-to-Self Comparisons.

No one characteristic is more important than another. Rather it’s the simultaneous interaction of all of them working together that creates the synergy for a solid positive mental attitude.

Attitudes are a choice. They may not come in bottles or little pills from your pharmacy, but they are never the less real. We have all experienced how a negative attitude has held us back, and how a positive attitude has propelled us towards our desired goal. This is your chance to choose to have an attitude that can make a difference to the quality of the rest of your life.

In my next article in the New Year I will expand more on the six mental patterns and how to incorporate them into whatever you are striving to achieve. Have a very positive New Year.

Gerry