Two people who live in the same town experience the exact same challenges and blessings in a twelve hour day. One of them ends the day with the following sentiment, “What a lousy day! Hopefully tomorrow will be better, but I doubt it.” The other one says, “Thank you, God for another wonderful day of my life. Thank you for the lessons today and for letting me experience them. Oh! And thank you for the rain! It sounded so good to me and I loved splashing around in the puddles with my little one!”
I had some challenges this week. A situation I was hoping to avoid boldly and rudely threw me off my equilibrium. I quickly realized that the only control I had was my attitude. I changed it. I wasn’t going to let this turn of events (that I had recently begged God to prevent) ruin my day or my opportunity to be joyful. As it turned out, I had a great day by overcoming my situation with a smile. In doing so, I had no knot in my stomach, no angry headache and no crabby face. It’s amazing what a smile can do for your disposition!
And so I decided to write another blog about the power of attitude. Life is life, right? Things go wrong, computers crash (no, please!) rain ruins your outdoor plans (not so much in So. Ca.), something you were counting on doesn’t happen, etc. We can’t control the events but we can absolutely control how we respond to them. When something unexpected or unwanted happens, stop before reacting. Stop before you label the day “bad.” Remind yourself that you have a choice. You can smile and carry on, rearranging, adjusting or whatever you need to do – or, you can give in to the negative and sulk, pout, stomp your feet, treat others badly who had nothing to do with it and in general be a sourpuss.
Which choice sounds like a winner? Smiling, of course. Adapting, re-grouping, telling yourself that it’s all good (one of my favorite expressions). Life will continue to do its thing with or without your cooperation. Why not enjoy it?
You know people who say, “I’ll be happy as soon as I get my degree”; “get accepted for the loan”; “find the right partner”; “sell the house”, etc. It doesn’t work that way. You’ll be happy when you make the choice to be. It’s as simple as that. I knew this intellectually many years ago. I started practicing it only recently.
Be happy, despite what life throws your way. If you get a devastating blow, do what you can, control what you can control and then leave the rest to God. Trust in Him to get you through. And remember, nothing is forever.
A joyful life demands courage, patience, resilience, gratitude, love and a good attitude. What kind of life do you want? God bless. :))