What’s your attitude?
Our attitude can be based on the weather, politics, the way people treat us, or a whole lot of other things. We’ve all seen our attitude rise and fall, sometimes surprising us…and sometimes not!
Or… our attitude can be exactly what we choose it to be.
When we allow our attitude to be determined by
- other folks,
- what’s on the nightly news, or
- random circumstances,
it can be volatile, undependable, and not very productive!
With all the media “news” we may well find be finding ourselves challenged.
A good question to ponder might be
“Which came first, the news or the news cycle?”
What if the ubiquitous videos, accompanied by those talking heads, isn’t merely reporting the news, but causing it?
There’s always front page news because there’s always a front page!
The journalistic phrase “If it bleeds, it leads” is familiar to most of us.
Actually the world is safer (per capita) than ever before in recorded history. AND, even so, people are more frightened. The rise of our fear matches the rise of the media. And the media seems to want urgency more than importance.
What do we want?
We can choose our own attitude, independent of
what’s happening around us. We can turn off the media. We don’t have to hook ourselves up to those devices that continually shock us into a fear-based posture.
We can make the most of difficult situations and find and create value in our world.
Our attitude is the lens through which we see life and it’s best when that lens is focused on the positive possibilities!
There’s nothing that forces us to adopt one particular attitude over another. Our attitude is always our choice.
Remember Zig Ziglar? One of my favorite quotes of his:
We can choose an attitude that will enable us to soar!
What do you do to strengthen your positive attitude?
5 Comments
I saw ZIG two times. He did energize his audience. I think we had his audio tapes as well. We wondered if he lived his life the way he said we should. I had to believe he did.
Denny, I saw Zig once. And I believe that if you teach what he taught as often as he did, that it would be difficult to not have it rub off on you!
The best clue I’ve ever received came from my friend, Al, who suggested cultivating the ability to observe, without judgment, fear, or any kind of analysis that could engender emotion. I like to imagine that I’m a visitor from another time (or planet,even), here to observe these strange creatures who call themselves humans, whatever THAT is. I find it can be a great way to amuse myself sometimes.
What a great idea to use your imagination that way! It’s always somewhat difficult to observe without judgment. (Just look at all that’s going on in the news right now!)
Especially in the news right now, this neutral observing allows me to listen (if I want to) and not be upset by any of it.