“If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.”
— Pat Riley, Author of The Winner Within
“A positive attitude is something everyone can work on, and everyone can learn how to employ it.”
— Joan Lunden, Author of Why Did I Come Into This Room?
“With a positive attitude, it is possible to turn situations of failure into success.”
— Dan Miller, Author of No More Dreaded Mondays and Mind Your Mood
“Learning to control and adjust your attitude to a positive one reflects the wisdom of the mind.”
— Catherine Pulsifer, Author of Wings for Goals
“The place to start a positive attitude is with the little things. If you can learn to appreciate them and be grateful for them, you’ll appreciate the big things as well as everything in between.”
— John Maxwell, Author of How to Influence People
Everything happens for a reason, and sometimes we have to be okay with not knowing why or what that reason is. Our attitude in every circumstance and happening of life determines how we ultimately lead our life. If and when we trust God no matter what happens in our lives, and maintain a right attitude through it all, we will find fulfillment, contentment, and ultimate satisfaction.
I’ll be honest, I felt rather guilty talking and writing about this topic. In the last year or so, I felt my attitude go down the drain with a lot of other issues. I can’t confidently say that I fully trusted God no matter what was happening in my life in the last year. But He has a way with our hearts (at least He did with mine) where we can learn what we need to learn for our season quickly. When we finally tilt our heads upward and choose to, even if reluctantly, lock eyes with Him, He has a way of restoring, anointing, and imparting His message to us and through us.
Again, everything happens for a reason. I believe this truth wholeheartedly, even when I don’t understand or have any clue about what the reason could be. At the very least, the reason could be for our learning, growth, maturity, and life experience, as cliche or cheesy as that may sound. When things go down the drain in our lives (such as financial pains, relationship issues, health problems, emotional baggage and damage, etc.), we can still maintain a positive and pure attitude. There are practical habits we can implement in our “on” seasons, when everything is good, so that we can have these habits in place when the bad things happen and bad attitudes try to take over.
Before I continue, I just have to say that when things go down the drain in our lives, it really is for the better. The drain is there for a reason, because the faucet has something new to bring about.
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Why is Attitude Important?
In my last two blog posts (and episodes), I talked about the power of our thoughts and words, and how they can benefit and grow us, or destroy us. Along with our thoughts and words comes another layer of the soul, known as our attitude. Attitude is the way we look at life and choose to see and respond or react to events, situations, people, and even ourselves. Attitude is not something that just happens to us, we choose it. We choose our attitude because it is 1) created by our thoughts, and 2) it is closely involved with our behaviors.
Just like we choose the thoughts we think and replay in our heads, and the words we say to ourselves and others, we also decide how to perceive and process the events throughout our life. We decide if our mindset will ultimately be positive or negative. Therefore, it’s essential to take intentional, careful steps to train our minds, which contain our thoughts, words, and attitudes.
One girl I follow on Instagram posted a note on her story that helps with her attitude. I appreciated it because it helped me get in the right frame of mind, even today (the day I saw it). It said something like this:
My attitude is a choice to see problems as an opportunity to learn and grow. My attitude is how I feel about my past and my future.
Whatever problem we face, we have the choice to view it as an opportunity to learn and grow. It’s not just about tackling the problem and getting over it anymore. It’s about managing your inner narrative and leading your life instead of letting your heart and thoughts lead you.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 says the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. Which is why Apostle Paul writes to the Romans in chapter 12, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
Transformation can only take place when we stop conforming to the world and the ways of the flesh (our sinful nature, which has been plucked out of us and we’re instructed to take off anytime it tries to creep back on), and to renew our minds. When we renew our minds, a domino effect takes place that impacts every aspect of our being and transforms us into the image of Christ. We only need to imitate Him and the more we do, the easier it gets.
We are responsible for the fruit in our lives, and when we take care of our attitudes, our thought-life, and the words we speak, we live by the wise principle of Romans 12:2 and reap good fruit, fruit that is pleasing to the Lord and beneficial to us and those around us.
How to Maintain a Positive & Pure Attitude
The following four habits help us maintain a positive and pure attitude no matter what we face in life. When we practice these in our best times, we set ourselves up to live transformed in the worst times. I encourage and challenge you to take some inventory of your daily attitudes.
- Take notes for the next 72-hours AKA 3 days (physically write notes in a journal or in your phone) of any negative attitudes you have about your situations. Be specific and list every detail of the situation. Watch your negative attitude dissolve as rationality clicks.
- Confess and repent of any lingering negative attitudes before the Lord and, if possible, to another trustworthy person.
- Turn your negative attitude into a positive trigger by replacing it with gratitude.
- Find a devotional or Bible reading plan that can help you keep your eyes on Jesus and His righteousness, practice gratitude, and grow deeper in relationship with Him to reflect Him.
- Find resources that can help you maintain a positive and pure attitude. Here are some of my favorites:
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- NASB Bible
- One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
- Gratitude Journal
Live transformed in Christ by maintaining a positive and pure attitude by choice, today!
tanyaremkiv 