Why is a positive attitude so important?
Because it determines everything else in your life!
Attitude isn’t just about whether or not you’re having a good or bad day. Attitude is more than that. It affects relationships. It affects careers. It affects your entire future. I’ve met people who went through something similar to what I did. They were flying high, had a great business, and then lost it all. Years later, they’re still talking about their problems and misfortunes. For some of them, their spouse left them and they were forced to sell the family business. With others, their business partner was cheating them. Some had their major customer go out of business. These people are talented, experienced, and smart. If they would start another business, the odds of success this time could be quite good. Unfortunately, they’re still reliving the events that led up to their failure. Their negative attitude won’t let them get on with their life.
I know how they feel. I know what failure feels like. I lost my business. It hurts. What’s the difference between those negative thinking people and me? It’s our attitudes.
I’m not any better than they are or any smarter than they are. I am different from them in one way: I chose to see my past and my future differently.
In The Winning Attitude, John Maxwell summed up the idea of attitude. Let me share it with you:
Attitude…
It is the “advance man” of our true selves. Its roots are inward but its fruit is outward. It is our best friend or our worst enemy. It is more honest and more consistent than our words. It is an outward look based on past experiences. It is a thing which draws people to us or repels them. It is never content until it is expressed. It is the librarian of our past. It is the speaker of our present. It is the prophet of our future. Can you see how important your attitude is? Changing your attitude can literally change your life. It did mine. And here’s the great thing about attitude: It’s your choice.
Your attitude is a habit. Most people I meet have a bad habit of believing they can’t do anything; of talking down to themselves, and of living a life of quiet defeat. They think, talk, and act as if it’s impossible for them to succeed. If this is you—stop it! When I’m guilty of that, I remind myself of this truth:
Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. —Unknown
Do you see it!? If you want to live a fulfilling life—one filled with an abundance of health, wealth, and happiness— it starts with how you think, talk, and act!
Living the life of your dreams starts with getting into a habit of being positive in how you think, talk, and act. That’s it! The flip side of the coin is if you have a habit of thinking, talking, and acting negatively, you are living a life far below what you can achieve.
Two of my favorite books are The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and Success through a Positive Mental Attitude by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone. These books underscore the basic idea that success and fulfillment in life begins with your thoughts.
GOYA-ism: If you control your thoughts, and control your choices, you’ll create a brighter future!
I hear some people say, “I can’t help it. Somebody tells me something and I just react,” or, “I can’t help how I feel.” Children react to life; adults respond to it. Sure, when something happens, you instantly feel an emotion, whether it’s grief, or anger, or anxiety. But immature people fail to realize they don’t have to act immediately on that emotion. They can choose how to respond. When I’m tempted to just lash out at something, I remember something I once heard:
Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it. —Charles Swindoll
Some people believe they don’t have a choice and that their fate is out of their hands—that God, life, the universe, or whoever, decides what will happen to them. They have this passive approach to life that whatever happens, happens. Yes, those things play into the big picture, but you have a choice of what you do about it. God gave me the phrase “get off your attitude.” I could have dropped it or ignored it. I could have stayed negative with a victim’s mentality. But I decided to do something. You can do the same thing! You have the power to change your life. Believe this:
If there is anything you want to change in your world, change your attitude toward it. That’s my version of The Law of Attitude! Life isn’t about what happens to you—it’s what you do about it. Honestly, you can’t change much of what happens in life, but you can change how you look at it.
That, in turn, changes everything!
“Remember that it is up to you to choose everyday to Get off Your Attitude and to create a positive lifestyle for yourself and others.” Ryan C. Lowe
