I had to have the whole attitude talk with my “12-year-old-in-two-weeks” daughter yesterday. I had to have it with myself, too! I had to wake both of my daughters up early, and that’s when it started…
As I was waking up my oldest, she was already mumbling, “No, no, no…” And I was already ready to react to her negativity! I was VERY tempted to turn on the drill sergeant face and yell, “Jump up and give me ten!” That’s when I made the conscious choice to remain calm and talk with her when she was fully awake. (Why is it that sometimes it is harder to react positively to people in our own family?!?)
When we got into the car, I talked to both of my girls about attitude. You see, I learned at an early age that attitude is a choice. Each morning, we wake up and we get to decide what kind of attitude we are going to have that day…before the day even starts! Through my interactions with people over the years, I have learned that there are some people who realize that they are in control of their attitudes, and there are some people who think that their attitude is determined by the circumstance. I want my daughters to grow up and be the kind of women who choose positive attitudes each day because they know that it is up to them, not because something “good” happened to them that day.
On days when you are dealing with negative people (including your own children!), remind yourself that you get to choose how you react! If dealing with children, model the attitude you want them to have and continue to teach them to make the choice of a positive attitude. Don’t underestimate your role in this – you will be a huge influence in this area!
I recently received the following story in several emails from different friends. I love the story, and it is a perfect reminder of the importance of attitude. If you haven’t read it yet, enjoy!
A 92-year old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who fully dresses each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably styled and face freshly shaved with a dash of aftershave applied, even though his is legally blind, moved to a nursing home. His wife of 70 years had recently passed away, making this move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator the nursing assistant provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung in his window.
“I love it,” he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“But Mr. Jones, said the nursing assistant, “you haven’t even seen your room yet!”
“Why”, he said, “that doesn’t have anything to do with it. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, the color of the walls or anything else. You see I’ve already made up my mind that I love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all of the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from it, what you’ve put in. So, my advice to people is to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories and to thank those who have been a part of filling your account. I’m still depositing!”
Share your stories of how a positive attitude has made a difference in your life!
