I am amazed at the large number of adults who fail to take responsibility for their attitudes. If they\u2019re grumpy and someone asks why, they\u2019ll say, \u201cI got up on the wrong side of the bed.\u201d When failure begins to plague their lives, they\u2019ll say, \u201cI was born on the wrong side of the tracks.\u201d When life begins to flatten out and others in the family are still climbing, they\u2019ll say, \u201cWell, I was in the wrong birth order in my family.\u201d When their marriages fail, they believe they married the wrong person. When someone else gets a promotion they wanted, it\u2019s because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you notice something? They are blaming everyone else for their problems. The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That\u2019s the day we truly grow up. An advisor to President Lincoln suggested a certain candidate for the Lincoln cabinet. But Lincoln refused, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t like the man\u2019s face.\u201d \u201cBut, sir, he can\u2019t be responsible for his face,\u201d insisted the advisor. \u201cEvery man over forty is responsible for his face,\u201d replied Lincoln, and the subject was dropped.<\/p>\n
No matter what you think about your attitude, it shows on your face! The other day I saw a bumper sticker that read, \u201cMisery is an option.\u201d<\/p>\n
We cannot choose how many years we will live, but we can choose how much life those years will have.<\/p>\n
We cannot control the beauty of our face, but we can control the expression on it.<\/p>\n
We cannot control life\u2019s difficult moments, but we can choose to make life less difficult.<\/p>\n
We cannot control the negative atmosphere of the world, but we can control the atmosphere of our minds.<\/p>\n
Too often, we try to choose to control things we cannot.<\/p>\n
Too seldom, we choose to control what we can . . . our attitude.<\/p>\n
Hugh Downs says that a happy person is not a person with a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. Too many people believe that happiness is a condition. When things are going great, they\u2019re happy. When things are going bad, they\u2019re sad. Some people have what I call \u201cdestination disease.\u201d They think that happiness can be found in a position or a place. Others have what I call \u201csomeone sickness.\u201d They think happiness results from knowing or being with a particular person.<\/p>\n
I am impressed with the philosophy of the following statement: \u201cGod chooses what we go through. We choose how we go through it.\u201d It describes Viktor Frankl\u2019s attitude as he was terribly mistreated in a Nazi concentration camp. His words to his persecutors have been an inspiration to millions of people. He said, \u201cThe one thing you cannot take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one\u2019s freedoms is to choose one\u2019s attitude in any given circumstance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, understood the importance of choosing a right attitude even in wrong situations. She was never known to hold a grudge against anyone. One time a friend recalled to her a cruel thing that had happened to her some years previously, but Clara seemed not to remember the incident. \u201cDon\u2019t you remember the wrong that was done to you?\u201d the friend asked. \u201cNo,\u201d Clara answered calmly. \u201cI distinctly remember forgetting that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many times people who have suffered adverse situations in their lives become bitter and angry. Over time, their lives will be negative and hardened toward others. The tendency for them is to point back to a difficult time and say, \u201cThat incident ruined my life.\u201d What they do not realize is that the incident called for an attitude decision\u2014a response. Their wrong attitude choice, not the condition, ruined their lives.<\/p>\n
C. S. Lewis said, \u201cEvery time you make a choice you are turning the control part of you, the part that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, you are slowly turning this control thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish one.<\/p>\n
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Developing the Leader Within You & Developing the Leaders Around You<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n John C. Maxwell<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am amazed at the large number of adults who fail to take responsibility for their attitudes. If they\u2019re grumpy and someone asks why, they\u2019ll say, \u201cI got up on the wrong side of the bed.\u201d When failure begins to plague their lives, they\u2019ll say,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg",900,609,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg",900,609,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?fit=300%2C203&ssl=1",300,203,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"portfolio-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=570%2C570&ssl=1",570,570,true],"portfolio-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=600%2C609&ssl=1",600,609,true],"portfolio-landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1",800,600,true],"menu-featured-post":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=345%2C198&ssl=1",345,198,true],"qode-carousel_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=400%2C260&ssl=1",400,260,true],"portfolio_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=500%2C380&ssl=1",500,380,true],"portfolio_masonry_regular":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1",500,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_wide":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=900%2C500&ssl=1",900,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_tall":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=500%2C609&ssl=1",500,609,true],"portfolio_masonry_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"portfolio_masonry_with_space":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?fit=700%2C474&ssl=1",700,474,true],"latest_post_boxes":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=539%2C303&ssl=1",539,303,true],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?fit=600%2C406&ssl=1",600,406,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/post-2017.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1",100,100,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Philosophy<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"I am amazed at the large number of adults who fail to take responsibility for their attitudes. 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