There are a lot of things that can wreck your chances to do well. We live in a rather dangerous world. So you’ve got to be not only wise, you’ve got to be careful.
Attitude diseases are deadly. They’ll destroy all the good things you start and lead you to failure. So let’s go through them together. How to spot them, what they are, and the cure.
The insights in this post come directly from Jim Rohn’s timeless teachings.
1. Indifference — The Silent Drift Toward Failure
Let’s start with this one, the shrug of the shoulder. The guy’s not even concerned. He’s just drifting.
And here’s the problem with drift, you cannot drift to the top of the mountain.
The guy says, “Well, I can’t see getting all that worked up.”
But listen, to be any kind of winner, you’ve got to get worked up.
Here’s the key to the good life: learn to put everything you’ve got into everything you do. Whatever you’re doing, pour it on. It’ll quickly open up into an opportunity or quickly show you that you ought to be doing something else.
Now here’s the delusion a lot of people fall into: “If I had a better job, I’d really pour it on.”
See, that’s the delusion. Wherever you are, pour it on. That’s what’ll help change your life. Get rid of this disease.
2. Indecision — The Success Killer That Keeps You Stuck
The guy can’t make up his mind and it becomes a disease. Pretty soon he knows he’s got it.
He says, “Well, I know I’m on the fence. But what if I get off on the wrong side?”
Listen, after a while, it doesn’t matter. Just get off. Any side will do.
Here’s the best way to live: one way or the other. Pick a direction and go with everything you’ve got. Just pick one and go.
Somebody says, “Yeah, but what if it’s the wrong direction?”
You’ll find out quicker.
See, a life full of adventure is a life full of many decisions. The ones that turn out wrong give you better experience to make better decisions next time.
So don’t see how many decisions you can get out of, see how many you can get into. That’s where the adventure is.
Shake off this disease, indecision.
3. Self-Doubt — The Confidence Destroyer
This one spreads like a plague. And one of the worst kinds is self-doubt. There are many, but that’s one of the worst.
The guy doubts himself. Doubts if it’ll last that long for him. Doubts if he can do that well. Doubts if he can make that much. Doubts if he can accomplish all that.
A chronic, excellent self-doubter. You can imagine what damage that does to your future.
Here’s the cure: turn this coin over and become a believer.
There are many things to believe in. One of the majors is yourself.
The understanding of self-worth is the beginning of progress.
4. Worry — The Habit That Drains Your Potential
Now if those three don’t get you, this one will.
Worry is a devastating disease. It causes health problems, social problems, personal problems, family problems. Worry long enough and it’ll drop you to your knees. It could reduce you to begging.
Jim Rohn sharing his story says “I used to have it bad. I used to be known as a super worrier. Not a super warrior. My family wished I’d have been a warrior.
But here’s the advice on worry: Give it up. Who needs it?
I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m saying it’s worth it.
It took me almost one year to kick the worry habit. It was not an easy year, it was one of the toughest years I ever spent. But I finally got that monkey off my back.
And here’s what I discovered on the other side:
You can live the most incredible life free of worry. Not free of challenge, not free of difficulty, free of worry.”
5. Overcaution — How Playing It Safe Holds You Back
Some people will never have much. They’re just too cautious.
Now look, you can be too reckless. But you can also be too cautious. And that’s just as dangerous.
For me (Jim Rohn), it was always the risk. Risk used to drive me right up the wall. I used to say, “What if this happens?”
That’s called the language of the poor.
“What if this happens? And on top of that, if this was to happen, look at the fix I’d be in. I better not try.”
I could always ace myself out.
Then I’ll tell you what changed my whole life. I finally discovered something simple:
It’s all risky.
The minute you were born, it got risky. Think about it:
If you think trying is risky, wait till they hand you the bill for not trying.
If you think investing is risky, wait till you get the tab for not investing.
Getting married is risky.
Having children is risky.
Going into business is risky.
Investing your money is risky.
It’s all risky.
And I’ll tell you just how risky life really is, you’re not going to get out alive.
The Englishman says, “Well, if that’s the way it’s going to work out, let’s give it a go.” Right? That’s what it’s for. Give it a go.
Somebody says, “Yeah, but I’m looking for safety and security.”
Fine. Then huddle in a corner. We’ll cover you with a sheet, bring you three meals a day, protect you, feed you, look after you, care for you, won’t let anything happen to you, and you’ll probably live to be 100.
The guy said, “Well, yeah, I’d live to be 100. But what a way to live.”
Don’t ask for security. Ask for adventure.
Better to live 30 years full of adventure than 100 years safe in the corner.
6. Pessimism — Always Seeing Problems Instead of Opportunities
Here’s a deadly one.
The pessimist is always looking on the bad side. The problem side. The difficult side. Always checking the reasons why it can’t be done.
The poor pessimist leads an ugly life. He doesn’t try to figure out what’s right, he tries to figure out what’s wrong. And when he finds it, he’s delighted. How ugly.
This is the poor guy who looks through the window and doesn’t see the sunset. He sees the specks on the window.
This is the poor guy who rushes up and says, “I’ve got five good reasons why it won’t work.” He’s so caught up he doesn’t even realize, all he needs is one reason. He’s got five.
To the pessimist, the glass is always half empty. To the optimist, the glass is half full.
Why would the same measure affect people two different ways? Here’s the answer:
It all depends on how you look at it. Our lives are mostly affected by the way we think things are, not the way they are.
There’s a subject called better thinking habits.
And one of the major things my (Jim Rohn) mentor taught me when I first met him he said poor thinking habits keep most people poor. Not poor working habits. Most people work hard. But they don’t think hard.
If you want to build stronger thinking patterns, start with these morning habits that reshape your mindset over time.
The mind is like a factory, a mental factory. Whatever you think about all day long pours ingredients into this mental factory. And that’s what builds the economic, social, financial fabric of your life.
As you think, so you become.
“When my mentor talked about poor thinking habits, he had me. I (Jim Rohn) used to start the day by reading the morning newspaper. I’d get a cup of coffee, read the paper, and load up on wars, riots, murders, stabbings, killings, bank robberies, muggings, car wrecks and tragedies. I’d even read the back pages I seemed to like that stuff for some weird reason.
I’d load up on all that. And then I’d start the day.
You can imagine the kind of days I used to have.”
Now, the guy says, “I want to be a great leader.” Wonderful.
The first thing we do is follow him to his house. When we get there, we walk in and check his library.
“Well, why check his library?”
Because what a man reads pours massive ingredients into his mental factory. And the fabric of his life is built from those ingredients.
You would not believe what some people have got in their house to read. One of the best dressed-up words I know for a lot of it is trash.
Can you imagine dumping a barrel of trash into this mental factory every day and coming out with a rich, dynamic, positive life? It can’t be done. You might as well try making a cake with cement.
A kid once asked me, “Mr. Rohn, how do you build the good life?”
I said, “It’s simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple.”
Here’s how you build anything: select the right ingredients. Keep out the wrong ingredients. And it starts with thought.
Everything starts with thought. So you must be wise and careful about what you think about, because that starts everything.
I asked the kids, “What would happen if somebody dropped sugar in my coffee?”
They said, “Well, you’d be okay.”
I said, “What if somebody dropped strychnine in my coffee?”
They said, “Well, you’d be dead.”
I said, “Correct.”
Lesson: Life is both sugar and strychnine. You’ve got to be careful.
“What if my worst enemy drops in the sugar?” You’d be okay.
“What if my best friend, even by accident, drops in the strychnine?” You’d be dead.
See, it doesn’t matter who hands you the bad stuff. It doesn’t matter where you get it. It’ll still do its damage wherever you get it.
And my mentor gave me one of the greatest phrases I’ve ever heard. He said:
“Jim, every day, stand guard at the door of your mind.”
How important! You decide what goes into your mental factory. Don’t let anybody just dump anything they want in there, because you’ve got to live with the results.
7. Complaining — The Attitude That Keeps You Stuck
Alright, here’s the last one. And this one is deadly.
Engage in it, indulge in it even slightly, and you might as well forget the future. Because it’s going to forget you.
Complaining, crying, whining, griping. The Bible calls it murmuring. That’ll ace your future.
Spend five minutes complaining and you have wasted five. And you may have begun what’s known as economic cancer of the bone.
Surely they will soon haul you off into a financial desert and there let you choke on the dust of your own regret.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, success isn’t destroyed by the outside world, it’s undone from the inside.
Indifference, indecision, doubt, worry, overcaution, pessimism, and complaining don’t show up loudly. They creep in quietly. And if left unchecked, they slowly dismantle everything you’re trying to build.
Your future is less about your circumstances and more about your mindset.
You don’t need a perfect environment.
You need disciplined thinking.
Stand guard at the door of your mind. Choose courage over caution, belief over doubt, action over hesitation, and gratitude over complaining.
Because when you win the battle within, you give yourself a real shot at winning everywhere else.
So just be on the lookout for the things that can destroy all the good you start.
If you’ve read this far, you should check out the no.1 thing that separates successful people from unsuccessful.
