Rate the Statements



Using the following scale:

0 = Strongly Disagree

1 = Disagree

2 = Neutral

3 = Agree

4 = Strongly Agree

Rate each of the following statements on a scale of zero to four based on the extent with which you agree, or disagree, with the statement.

1. In uncertain times, I would expect the best results . . . . . . . . . . _________

2. It's easy for me to relax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________

3. If something can go wrong with me, it probably will . . . . . . . . . . . _________

4. I am always optimistic about my future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________

5. I really enjoy my friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________

6. It's important for me to keep busy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________

7. I hardly ever expect things to go my way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________

8. I don't get upset very easily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________

9. I rarely count on good things happening to me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________

10. Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad . . . _________

Score Your Answers

Step One: Put a line through your rating response for questions 2, 5, 6, and 8. Ignore these random questions because they have nothing to do with your score.

Step Two: Reverse your rating response for questions 3, 7, and 9. (0=4, 1=3, 2=2, 3=1, 4=0)

Step Three: Add up your rating responses for questions 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 10. (Remember to use the reverse rating numbers for questions 3, 7, and 9.)

The sum of your rating responses to questions 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 10 is your total real score.

How to interpret your score

0-4 No news is good news, and for you there is no such thing as good news. So, stop reading the news. Go out and buy some good books instead.

4-8 People say that every cloud has a silver lining, and for you it is a silver lightning bolt that you are always dodging. Don't bother with the parade, you need to get out of the rain.

8-12 Your glass is perpetually half empty. You should stay near people who have faucets.

12-16 You tend to be optimistic. No matter how much you sip from it, your glass is always half full. It's time to satisfy your thirst and drink deeply.

16-20 The harder you work, the luckier you get. Get busy and reap the rewards!

20-24 Your momentum compels you forward, and motivates those around you. Remember to look both ways before crossing the street.

Score Less than Eight

Individuals with a score below eight may find it difficult to participate in opportunities that are perceived risky. Unfortunately, these individuals may also feel that almost all situations are risky, and therefore simply avoid them altogether. This attitude might manifest as a lack of confidence, implying an underlying lack of self-respect, or lack of self-awareness. A lack of self-awareness simply means that the individual does not fully recognize his or her personal strengths, talents, attributes, real value, and inherent ability to overcome anticipated obstacles.

Individuals with scores below eight may also find it difficult to engage in personal or professional relationships. After all, relationships also have a certain amount of risk. This reluctance may manifest as either a limited number of relationships, or a limited depth of relationships, or both. Quite often, this is the result of bad experiences in previous relationships that create caution, and a desire to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Unfortunately, focusing attention on undesired circumstances or interactions in a relationship is almost guaranteed to make them occur again. Anticipating or looking for unwanted behavior will yield the desired results, you will eventually find it. Watching for unwanted activity in others will most certainly create the perception that it is occurring. Even more alarming, the other individual is typically unaware of the specific attributes or activities that you may find so disturbing, and therefore be completely unable to do anything to positively allay these concerns. If the other individual tries to act in a different manner to correct the perception, then the situation may continue to deteriorate. The only way to end this continuous cycle of disappointment is to communicate openly, honestly, and clearly. While the communication may not be immediately effective every time, it will be effective over time with those individuals who share a commitment to participate in the relationship with you. This enables you to identify the other people who are committed to relationships with you, and simultaneously improves those relationships. Overcome the reluctance to communicate, and you will overcome the barriers to identifying and participating in the right relationships.

Score Less than Twelve

Individuals with a score less than twelve have a tendency to focus primarily on disappointments and perceived failures with much greater attention than achievements. Stop doing that. Analyzing defeat for the purpose of identifying areas that need improvement is a commonly accepted practice. The intent of analyzing a mistake or failure is to avoid repeating them. Once the areas of improvement are defined, then focus on how you can utilize your experience going forward. Reach out to other individuals for motivation, optimism, and guidance. Don't be embarrassed to ask for advice or to share your experience. Sharing your experience is a gift if it helps someone else avoid a similar mistake. Asking for advice or suggestions is regarded as a compliment, and will help to build your relationship with a desired mentor or coach. In other words, when you ask for suggestions of assistance, both sides benefit.

Regardless of your score, there will be obstacles, and there will be challenges in life. The way that you respond to these obstacles, the way that you respond to subsequent victories, and the way that you handle occasional disappointments, define you. If your score is less than twelve, begin by challenging yourself to take small risks. Stretch out to try new experiences, or test the limits of your capabilities. Make a conscious effort to spend more time analyzing your successes, your victories, and the things that make you have accomplished. Gain a deeper understand for the reasons that you win, rather than the reasons that you think that you have lost. Surround yourself with people who encourage you, legitimately care for you, and who celebrate your successes.

Score Greater than Twelve

Congratulations! You have the vision to see opportunity, and the realization that it can be achieved. You are optimistic, enthusiastic, and ready to reach new personal heights. The higher the score, the more confidence that you have in yourself. What should you do with this confidence? You should continue to challenge yourself to achieve more than you expected possible. Take a few chances on yourself, and you will rarely be disappointed. Even a temporary set-up is never a failure, but merely a learning experience to apply to the new approach that you take to overcome your obstacles. Obstacles are merely challenges and puzzles to be solved, and you know that you can solve them with enough time and effort.

Temper the attention to your own perseverance and goals with a balance of attention to those individuals who can also benefit from your attitude. Look for the other individuals who may have assessed themselves with a score of less than twelve, and share some of your confidence with them. You share your confidence by helping them to find the confidence within themselves. Take a little time to point out their successes, their talents, and the value that they bring to others. Share your appreciation for what they do to contribute to you, and to your success. Nurture the capabilities and aspirations of those people who perceive their glass as half empty, but letting them know how much they mean to you, and how much they contribute to others. As you help those people to accomplish more, the results will naturally benefit both of you.

Score Greater than Twenty

If your score is over twenty, you are extremely confident in yourself, and ready to tackle any project. No task is too great for you. You can overcome barriers, create solutions, and inspire the people around you. Everything will work out eventually, if not sooner. Life has many delicious experiences, and you have likely tasted many of them. By most standards, you truly live a charmed life.

However, it is also very possible that you may have occasional conflicts with other individuals who have a score over twelve. In other words, your own enthusiasm knows almost no bounds, but it may also have very little appreciation or understanding for enthusiasm or optimism that is founded in ideas that are different from your own. This can result in sometimes severe conflicts or miscommunications. While you have limitless patience for individuals who are struggling, patiently sharing your time and energy to mentor the individuals who express a need for your help, the same feelings may not apply for those who have optimism that is different from your own. While you derive tremendous pleasure in sharing your own positive attitude with others, you may be handicapped in experiencing excitement that you do not create yourself. Therefore, your biggest challenge is to learn to embrace the accomplishments of other motivated individuals. Your own accomplishments will expand dramatically when you learn to enthusiastically embrace the achievements of your peers with the positive attitude.

Furthermore, if you have a score over twenty, balance your optimism with a robust gathering of trusted advocates and advisors. It will be easier to overcome some obstacles, and avoid unnecessary failures, by accepting guidance from individuals who have extensive experiences of their own.

Share or score those around you

Once you have had some fun with your own personal assessment, think about how your friends, colleagues, clients, or peers may score themselves. Share the ten quick statements with coworkers, friends, or family members and share results to see how you relate to one another.

Source: The Two Minute Attitude Assessment is based on a quiz originally designed by M.F. Scheier and C.S. Carver.

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Words of Wisdom

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."

- Herm Albright

"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives."

- William James

"Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new."

- Og Mandino

"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."

- Albert Einstein

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