“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.”
We all know that our attitude toward just about anything can create joy and peace in our living. We also know that we often don't do the work of crafting a better attitude. This is particularly common our holiday activities. Here are three reasons we might fail to develop a grateful attitude and what we can do about it.
1. I'm just too tired. The thought of reciting a a clever mantra or making a list of "things I'm thankful for" seems like too much work. Solution - get some rest. Sometimes I need to make time for sleep, quiet moments and space for...doing nothing. I need to try excusing myself from all the hustle and bustle long enough to walk down the sidewalk or breathe in the crisp fall air. Watching a leaf fall and pondering for 60 seconds what analogy it might provide for my life is a wonderful thing.
2. I suffer from a moment of "it won't work for me." I get it. It is easy for me to offer pastoral advice or elderly counsel to others. I can believe in their progress through attitude adjustment, BUT when I'm dealing with my emotions, my disappointments...well...that's different. I'm different. When we are in the midst of the emotional storm of guilt, shame or regret it is hard to see beyond the mess. Time to "phone a friend!" I have a hand of trusted, caring, honest friends and they are just the fix for my self-centered, myopic, 'poor me' attitude. A quick call to one of them will often walk me right out of the mess and into enough belief that I'll do those attitude changing things that I need to do.
3. I get out of the habit. Attitude management is really more about my daily self-care and personal development habits. I know that daily prayer, consistently reading positive and spiritual words, times of playfulness, laughter and being in nature all help my attitude and perspective. Yet, as much as I am a creature of habit, I will also break my routine here and there and soon I'm out of sorts. At those times, I do well to remember what makes for a better attitude and make sure I'm mixing, routinely, a good measure of that activity into my day...week...month...now.
This is a season of thanksgiving, gratitude and joy. I can get off track. Here's my reminder to get my attitude back into shape.
Happy Thanksgiving!