Allow yourself to dwell only on the positive and not the negative.
English heart surgeon Martyn Lioyd-Jones asserted, “Most unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself.” What kind of voice do you hear? If you are hearing negative messages, you need to learn to give yourself positive mental pep talks. The best way to retain your attitude is to prevent your mind from going down any negative forks on the road. Your attitude dictates and controls your life, influencing how you see and interact with the surrounding world. Further, it is not what happens to you that affects you but how you respond to what happens to you. Thus the critical difference lies in your attitude towards life.
Feed yourself the right “food.” If you’ve been starved of anything positive, then you need to start feeding yourself a regular diet of motivational material. Our attitude determine what we see and how we handle our feelings. These two factors greatly determine our success. Your attitude covers every aspect of your life. It is like the mind’s paintbrush. It can paint everything in bright vibrant colours- creating a masterpiece. Or it can make everything dark and dreary. Attitude is so pervasive and important that some people come to think of it as the librarian of your past, speaker of your present and the prophet of your future. There is not a single part of your current life that is not affected by your attitude.
The apostle Paul is a great example of someone with a marvellous attitude. Through all of his trials, God had been right there by his side. But never once did he blame God for his misfortune. Instead, listen to the positive attitude in Paul’s words as he was imprisoned for preaching the gospel, “I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel.” No moaning, no complaining. Just a marvellous attitude that brought joy to his life. May it serve as an example to us in our daily living!
