Attitudes are EVERYTHING!

The longer I live, the more I realize the importance of attitude on life. To me, our attitudes make the most impact on our life either negative or positive.  Attitudes are more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  They are more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  Attitudes will make or break marriages, families, individuals and even entire communities, cities and nations.

You and I have a choice every day regarding the attitudes that we will embrace daily. We may not be able to change our past or the people surrounding us but, we can change our thoughts and attitudes.  Someone once said that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it.  Ultimately, we are in charge of our attitudes!

Attitudes do not run on automatic. I am responsible for my attitude and how I manage it. We choose what attitudes we will have and it’s a continuing choice.  The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take responsibility of our attitudes.

IT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO ME THAT MATTERS BUT WHAT HAPPENS IN ME!

Some people believe that happiness can be found in a position or a place or even in a particular person.   I believe happiness is a feeling but, joy is a state of being!  We alone get to choose.

Our feelings come from our thoughts. And we can change our feelings by changing ONE thing right now – our thoughts!

This is one of my go-to bible verses to ponder on when I realize I need an attitude adjustment.

FIX YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT IS TRUE, AND HONORABLE, AND RIGHT, AND PURE, AND LOVELY, AND ADMIRABLE. THINK ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE EXCELLENT AND WORTHY OF PRAISE.

PHILLIPIANS 4:8 NLT

Changing our thoughts and attitudes isn’t always a stroll in the park. It takes a conscious effort, a daily resolve and a decision to be intentional every moment of every day.  But hard work always pays off and eventually negative attitudes can and will change to positive ones if we stay consistent.  The more we recognize and even label our negative thoughts, we can then weed them out.  And then replacing them with positive ones becomes much easier.

Some may think I am odd but, I LOVE to pull weeds. Especially during the Spring while it is still fairly cool.  Pulling weeds provides me with instant gratification of my labors.  After digging all the bothersome weeds out, I can stand back and gaze at my flower bed and see tidiness and room for my flowering plants to spread and thrive.  It is the same with our thought life.

To me, weeds represent negative thoughts and bad habits. When I spend time weeding out all the troublesome thoughts, I can plant new and healthy thoughts.  Thoughts that will flourish and produce beauty to me and everyone around me.

We need to constantly prune out the things that are hindering us so that our lives can be lush and green in our quest for a joyous and productive life.  Attitudes truly make a difference!

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don’t.

If you’d like to win but think you can’t,

It’s almost certain you won’t.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

 

Lisa Roitsch – 6/2018

(excerpts from J. Maxwell’s, Developing the Leader Within You)