I love this photo of the happy face drawn on the window pane. I interpret this photo as showing a rainy and cold day, yet the face leads you to believe that happiness can still be found in those conditions. The same could be said for our own life challenges. Whatever we are facing, we still have the power to choose how we will react to our situation in life.
My dad was a big proponent of having a positive attitude and he practiced what he taught. My dad passed away in 2020, but up until the last days of his life, he was teaching us to have a positive attitude. About 10 years ago he wrote on a 3×5 card a list of his ailments. I knew he had diabetes and he was in remission for cancer, but I was surprised at all the other health issues he listed. He was a private man so it was natural that I wouldn’t have known all that he was dealing with, but he was also really good at practicing having a positive attitude. Regardless of challenges happening in his life, health or otherwise, he managed to keep a positive attitude.
For several years my dad had one of his favorite quotes hung in his home office. It was a quote by Charles Swindoll, an evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher. Here is the quote:
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes”
I’m not sure when Charles Swindoll wrote this, but I am surprised at how inspired he was.
Whenever I am faced with something challenging, I remember my dad and his life long quest to be in charge of his attitude, and that helps me to look at things differently. I am Honestly Grateful for my dad and his lessons about having a positive attitude.