I never read what that poster said. Not once.
I'm sure my parents thought I did read it, as they asked me to read and re-read it many times. But somehow when you're a pre-teen and teenager and your parents think you need an "attitude adjustment," and you are clearly a misunderstood angel at all times, the last thing you want to do is read a quote about the importance of attitude following a strongly worded suggestion from your parental unit.
But I've been thinking a lot about attitude lately. Attitude makes a big difference in how you approach anything, but especially weight loss. If you begin your journey expecting to fail then, guess what, you're going to fail. If however, you choose to believe in yourself and your wondrous and perfectly made body, then you have a better chance at succeeding.
Yeah, yeah, you've heard this all before. But have you ever heard Mr. Swindoll say it? Me neither, (remember, I never read the framed quote in my parent's kitchen? Sheesh, we need to work on your reading comprehension) so I googled his famous words on attitude. Guess what? They are some valuable insights on who we live our lives.
If you'd like to read Chuck's thoughts on attitude, check it out below.
Attitude
By Charles Swindoll
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes. "
What do you think? Is life what happens to you or how you react to it? Can you choose your attitude or does that require something yucky like discipline?
*Disclaimer: I have no idea who Charles Swindoll is or why he might be famous. It could be solely for his contributions to the world about attitude. I have no idea.
Yeah. This means a lot to me now, and falls into a lot of what I have been learning and thinking lately, but as a teen it would have totally fallen on deaf ears, like throwing pearls to a pig.
ReplyDelete-abi
p.s. It requires discipline and much prayer.
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I was actually thinking about this on the way to work this morning. Lately, I have really dreaded going to work due to being short-staffed and on top of already being understaffed, I have staff out on vacation. I just can't keep up and have felt defeated. Every morning I almost am physically sick thinking about it. Today I decided to talk myself into feeling really good about going to work and taking care of everything I could because even though I cannot climb out of the hole, I may possible get closer to the top. When I got there I realized my only CSR scheduled to be there is in the bathroom getting sick. Bless her heart, she was going to stay because she didn't want me to get stressed (my sucky attitude tends to appear as stress to nice people). I truly believe because I went to work with a different attitude, I could tell her to go home and feel better and not be secretly upset or mad that I had to take every call and every patient concern. Today was stressful, but it was not as bad as yesterday because I started it with the right mindset. I plan on doing the same tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I did not know so much has gone no with you...I just caught up on the blog and stopped myself from commenting on every post!
*gone on with you. lol
ReplyDeleteReally good post! Oh, and Charles Swindoll is a famous pastor and writer. He's part of the Focus on the Family shin dig out west.
ReplyDeleteClearly, you don't listen to New Life 91.9, where they quote Charles Swindoll approximately every 1.38 seconds. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Rachel! That's an excellent example of attitude at work!
ReplyDeleteYes, apparently everyone knows who Charles Swindoll is, except me.
I do think you can change your attitude, but it does require discipline and the intervention of the Holy Spirit. And time.
ReplyDeleteMy attitude needed adjusting after I had to take my car to the shop for the third time this week (grrr!). I was not happy, threw a hissy fit, and was a grouch most of the rest of the day.Then, I chilled out, went to zumba and felt a hundred times better.
I write off my bad mood/reaction as an indulgence I should allow myself. I think "I will end up having to pay more money for this dang car, so I am justified in acting like a jackass for a few hours." Wrong. It shouldn't work that way. I remember "Better a patient man than a warrior" (Proverbs), and then feel like a doofus for acting like a baby.
So, here's to an attitude adjustment...and a fixed car!
Nice post, Jillio.
PS
Attitude adjustment meant something quite different at the Terry household.
I love that 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we react.
ReplyDeleteSadly, mom and dad didn't have the attitude poster for me growing up. Maybe I would have turned out differently.
I beg to differ. It sat on mom's desk in Simpsonville leaning up against the microwave for a long time. Maybe by then they figured that none of the rest of us read it, so you wouldn't have either.
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