Attitude is everything. It is the lifelong gift we give our children. They listen to your response and mimic your reactions. You can decide to have a positive attitude or negative attitude. Whichever choice you make, life will follow accordingly.
Life is full of surprises and not all of them good. The old saying "bad things happen to good people" is so true. As we progress through our life stages we occasionally get knocked back a step or two. Maybe we lost our job, faced serious illness, made financial decisions that seemed logical at the time or any other unexpected calamity. It is how we handle them that make us a survivor or a victim. It is our state of mind that determines the ultimate outcome.
When a negative event happens, through no fault of our own, we are most definitely a victim. We have an absolute right to wallow in self pity and ask the inevitable "Why me?" We feel sorry for ourselves and occasionally wonder how to move forward. We feel the loss of progress and are burdened with the weight of the new situation. Once the initial shock passes and reality sets in, we must make the decision to turn our emotions towards survivor mode. That means maintaining a positive attitude.
Most of us recognize that the hard times we have gone through made us who we are. We may be stronger now, more cautious, more appreciative of our many blessings, more willing to take risks. Whatever your experiences have been, they are now a part of you. What attitude do you maintain?
What needs to remain a priority is your attitude towards the event. Once the shock wears off, take a look at how you are going to respond. Are you going to retain the defeatist attitude or are you going to set the example for your children? What are you going to say: Life is unfair! Or… Not only will we survive this setback, we will learn and grow from it and be better people for it. Your children will adopt your response. It is the same old concept: Is the glass half full or half empty? Your family deserves your healthy state of mind.
Show your children that you are prepared for life, even when it is unexpected. Through positive thinking, show them that they can be a part of the solution instead of the problem. Use the difficult times as well as the smooth sailing periods for teachable moments. Be realistic but upbeat. Look for solutions. If you are only coming up with one solution than you haven't looked closely enough.
Set your mind to survivor mode and make sure your actions reflect the same. Let your children know that, as a family, you will carry on and be thankful for your many blessings. If there is anything you can do to change the situation, make a plan and move forward to correct the issue. If it is out of your hands, accept the change and move forward. Either way, try to stay focused on what you have not what you lost, again, positive thinking needs to be in the front of your mind.
With your new state of mind, your children will automatically assume that every obstacle can be dealt with and that regardless of what lemons are thrown their way, they can choose to make lemonade!
Reality, at times, can test the best of us. However, with your children watching your every move, it is too important to set the standard. Empower your family with attitude that grants them the state of mind to succeed even through difficult times.
Positive thinking will bring about positive outcomes.
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