Attitude is a Matter of Choice

What are you sculpting today?

The Sculptor’s Attitude

“I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or … I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or … I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or … I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or … I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or … I can celebrate that the thorns have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or … I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or … I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.

Today I can complain because I have to go to school or … eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or … I can feel honored because God has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping. What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have!

Have a GREAT DAY … unless you have other plans.”

—Author Unknown

This piece spoke to me because of a recent client. He had just completed an assessment which pinpointed how his THINKING, (not the situations) was not only causing stress in his life and leading to health issues but also keeping him from being successful. Seeing it “on paper” was a real AHA moment for him.

We talk to ourselves all day and 90% of it is negative. If you’re at all familiar with some of the quantum physics concepts, you know that what you put out into the world is what you get back. The more negativity you put out there, the more negative situations you will find around you.

So next time you have a negative thought, STOP, and turn it into a positive one. It can’t hurt and it might just change your life. It’s your choice!

Are You Living By Your Choices or Someone Else’s?

We can choose to be responsible for our lives … or not! There is a great deal of power in knowing that it’s up to us.  If we don’t like the way our life is, we can choose to change it!  There is always a choice although it may not seem so at times.  Even doing nothing is a choice.

To illustrate, imagine for a moment, that you are driving down a road (in your shiny new car) in your neighborhood and:

There is a deep pothole on your side of the road … you drive in … you choose to get angry and feel helpless … it isn’t your fault (they should do something about the roads!) … it takes a lot of effort to get your car out.

OR

There is a deep pothole on your side of the road but your mind is on other things … you drive in, not believing you’ve done it again … you choose to feel even more angry and helpless … it still isn’t your fault (they still haven’t fixed the road!) … again it takes a lot of effort to get your car out.

OR

There is a deep pothole on your side of the road … you see it but drive in through force of habit … you know where you are … you choose to realize it is your fault … you get out very quickly.

OR

There is a deep pothole on your side of the road … you choose to drive around it.

OR

You choose to drive down another street.

We are not controlled by outside events, as difficult as that may be to believe when we are faced with desperate situations. We always have a choice as to how we feel and the action we take. Are you blaming others for your choices or taking responsibility for your own choices? 

Choose your thoughts wisely; they become words.
Choose your words wisely; they become actions.
Choose your actions wisely; they become habits.
Choose your habits wisely; they become character.
Choose your character wisely, it becomes your future!