Before coming to your training, please do the following:
In this lesson, you will learn about making work adjustments through a positive attitude. You will learn to identify positive and negative attitudes and outcomes, discuss how a positive attitude can bring joy into your work, and reflect on service. Learning these things will give you an idea of what you and your associates should work on in order to be better candidates for future positions.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Draw a vertical line dividing the board in two sections. On one side of the board, write Positive Attitude and on the other side, write Negative Attitude. Then invite a volunteer to come up and select a slip of paper with an attitude written on it from a bag. These attitudes can be simple or complex. Some examples include: happy, frustrated, anxious, stubborn, sad, self-conscious, and so on. The volunteer will act out a scenario displaying that attitude while the rest of the group guesses it. Once the group guesses the attitude, identify whether the attitude is positive or negative, based on its short- and long-term effects. Discuss and provide examples for your reasoning. Then write the attitude on the corresponding side of the board.
Repeat the game five to eight times, using different volunteers each time.
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (m-w.com) defines attitude in the following ways:
As a group, read the story of the ten lepers (see Luke 17:11–19). Then discuss the following questions:
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Because we live in a fallen world, we will at times experience sorrow, hardship, pain, and heartbreak. Some of these experiences come from poor decisions we have made, poor decisions others have made, or just from the nature of a fallen environment. However, it is not so much our circumstances that determine our outcomes, but how we face those circumstances. If we face our challenges with faith in God and optimism for the future, we can receive great blessings.
Watch the music video by Hilary Weeks called “Beautiful Heartbreak.” Think about how the theme of this video relates to your own life and the lives of your associates. Many associates come to work with heartbreak and discouragement and look to you for help.
Read 2 Nephi 10:23. Then discuss the following questions as a class:
Discuss President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s talk “A Summer with Great-Aunt Rose,” which was included in the preparation for this lesson.
Write in your learner's journal about the following:
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
As a group, discuss the following questions:
Sondra Heaston, an associate teaching professor at the BYU College of Nursing, shared an example in a BYU devotional of an object lesson that helped her understand what it means to serve others. Read the following as a group:
“Sister Virginia H. Pearce . . . taught us about 'becoming.' One of her statements about becoming was, ‘Be someone who reaches out to know and serve others—throw away the mirrors and look through the window.’
“To demonstrate this, she called up one of the young women and asked that young woman to stand facing her. Sister Pearce then pulled out a mirror and put it between the young woman and herself so that she, Sister Pearce, was looking into the mirror while she tried to talk with the young woman. Not surprisingly, it didn’t even begin to be an effective or heartfelt conversation. This was a powerful object lesson that illustrated how difficult it is to communicate with and serve others if we are too worried about ourselves and see only ourselves and our needs. Sister Pearce then put away the mirror, pulled out a window frame, and put it between her face and the young woman’s face. As she did so, we were able to see that the young woman had become Sister Pearce’s focal point and that true service requires that we focus on the needs and emotions of others. Ofttimes we are so worried about ourselves and our own busy lives—as we look in mirrors while trying to look for opportunities to serve—that we do not see clearly through the windows of service” (“Keeping Your Fingers on the PULSE of Service” [Brigham Young University devotional address, June 23, 2015], 5, speeches.byu.edu).
As a group, discuss the following questions:
Seek to identify a personal or business gap or need.
Spend a few minutes silently pondering what you've discussed during this lesson. Listen as the Holy Ghost helps you identify areas where you can improve. Record your impressions in your learner's journal under the question “What Lack I Yet?”
Seek ways to close the gap or develop the required talent(s) to meet the need.
With the guidance of the Spirit, create your plan of how you will improve and close the gap(s) you have identified. You may use one or more of the exercises below, your own strategy, or a combination of both. Record this plan in your learner's journal under “What Must I Do?”
After a few minutes, those who are comfortable doing so can share their impressions with the group.
Seek understanding, and then share what you learned.
During the week, focus on implementing the plan you created. Record your impressions or lessons learned in your learner's journal under “Therefore, What?” You will be given time at the beginning of next week's lesson to share your experience with the group.