ATTITUDE

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance or skill. It will make or break a team, a company or a home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day about the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. The only thing we can do is control our attitude."

-- Charles Swindoll

MOODS ARE CONTAGIOUS

A study by Harvard and UC-San Diego found "when a person becomes happy, a friend living close by has a 25 percent higher chance of becoming happy themselves."

"Everyday interactions we have with other people are definitely contagious, in terms of happiness," says Nicholas Christakis, a professor at Harvard Medical School and an author of the study.

According to this article, "the study is impressive in showing that moods can be contagious."

For those who've been in a locker room and have seen how one player's bad mood can negatively affect a team, these findings aren't particularly surprising.

The good news is, as coaches have sensed for a long time, having players on your roster who are "good guys" -- people who are optimistic with good attitudes (i.e., "happy") -- are likely to have a genuine impact on your team.