Attitude: an Integral Piece of The Mindset Puzzle

Your attitude is determined by your state of mind which in turn, determines the amount of tension you carry. There is both healthy tension (excitement) and unhealthy tension (fear). The trick is to be aware of which one is driving your behavior. How do you do this?

The only way to do this is to become acutely aware of your state of consciousness. A state of consciousness is a subtle feeling (not to be confused with emotion. Emotion is derived from your state of consciousness). There are 3 states of consciousness which determine your overall emotional well being. These are;

1. Contracted: this may be experienced as mistrust, apprehension, foreboding, dread, sadness, anger, annoyance, aversion, overwhelm, confusion and disconnection to name but a few.
2. Neutral (Relaxed): experienced as peace, calmness, clarity, equanimity, serenity, empowered, gratefulness, refreshed or revived.
3. Expansive: excited, engaged, amazed, vibrant, passionate, alert, curious, exuberant, radiant, joyful, open-hearted, inspired, amazed...

These emotions are related to a feeling, which is merely a state of consciousness (ie. your overall body/mind state). Often though, these subtle states can have significant impacts on the way we project of ourselves or perceive of others. In other words, I can't tell what you're thinking but I can remain open to your behavioral feedback loop, which is often shaped by your attitude. This is shaped at a subtler level by your state of consciousness.

If you wish to be free from excess tension so you may carry more self-confidence into whatever situation you're looking to excel at, observe your subtle state of consciousness. If you find that you're too contracted, spend some time grounding yourself (for example through deep breathing/meditation/visualization). Then reconnect with what's important to you and hold your vision very lightly as you move forward with a renewed "winning attitude." 

Attitude is not the whole pie though. It merely forms an integral piece of the mindset puzzle. The other parts are things like skills, talents, experience, identity (knowing who I am and what's important to me) as well as understanding of context. This is mindset mastery.