A thought by John C. Maxwell from his
book, How High Will You Climb? (p. 16).
Harpers Collins Leadership Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to
Amazon.com to buy the book.)
This is such an important factor for us
to comprehend and internalize.
John says, “For some, attitude
presents a difficulty in every opportunity; for others it presents an
opportunity in every difficulty. Some climb with a positive attitude, while
others fall with a negative perspective. The very fact that the attitude ‘makes
some’ while ‘breaking others’ is significant enough for us to explore its
importance.”
John gives some attitude axioms, “#1: Our
attitude determines our approach to life.”
He goes on, “The story of the two
buckets underlines this truth. One bucket was an optimist, and the other was a
pessimist.
“‘There has never been a life as
disappointing as mine,’ said the empty bucket as it approached the well. ‘I never
come away from the well full but what I return again empty.’ ‘There has never
been such a happy life as mine,’ said the full bucket as it left the well. ‘I
never come to the well empty but what I go away again full.’
“Our attitude tells us what we expect
from life. If our ‘noses’ are pointed up, we are taking off; if they are
pointed down, we may be headed for a crash.
“One of the valid ways to test your
attitude is to answer this question: Do you feel your world is treating you
well? If your attitude toward the world is excellent, you will receive
excellent results. If you feel so-so about the world, your response from the
world will be average. Feel badly about your world, and you will seem to have
only negative feedback from life. Look around you. Analyze the conversations of
people who lead unhappy, unfulfilled lives. You will find they are crying out
against a society that they feel is out to get them and to give them a lifetime
of trouble, misery, and bad luck. Sometimes the prison of discontent has been
built by their own hands.
“The world doesn’t care whether we
free ourselves from this prison or not. It marches on. Adopting a good, healthy
attitude toward life does not affect society nearly so much as it affects us.
The change cannot come from others. It must come from us.”
And then, “We are individually
responsible for our view of life. The Bible says, ‘Whatever a man sows, this he
will also reap’ (Gal. 6:7). Our attitude and action toward life help determine
what happens to us.”
There is so much more that John says, but we’ll
start here. So let’s do all we can today
to point our “noses” up. Ok?
Yes, yes!
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