Category: Attitude

Categories
Attitude growth

Why I Am Grateful to Be Alive

1965 Elkhart Double Tornado-Palm Sunday.

Every April 11 reminds me why I am grateful to be alive. It was sixty years ago, on April 11, 1965, when disaster struck. The day was a balmy Palm Sunday in Indiana. My mother was five months pregnant with me. Even though it was stormy, it was evening, and they were getting ready to go to church.

My grandparents lived about five miles southwest of my parents. My Uncle Preston was with them. As they were chatting, they suddenly felt things go deathly quiet. Uncle Preston rushed out to the mailbox. To the northwest, he saw the tornado. He ran back in and told everyone to get in the coal bin. He rushed to the phone to call my dad.

Continue reading “Why I Am Grateful to Be Alive”
Categories
Attitude Proverbs wisdom

The Stiff-necked

brown highland cattle on field of grass
Photo by Gabriela Palai on Pexels.com

In a story, there is always an obstacle. Either the hero has a conflict internally or externally. Something is stiff-necked.

Proverbs 29:1 reminds me why being stubborn and part of the stiff-necked is far from admirable.

"Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy." Proverbs 29:1

The hero learns something when they face and overcome the obstacle. They change and become a better version of themselves. Sure, they may be stubbornly determined, but they can’t be so stubborn that they are too proud to learn.

What if the hero is stiff-necked? What if they never learn and remain the same? It’s not much of a story—it’s just a long, slow-motion destruction scene.

Do you have a good story? Have you learned something that changed your life for the better? Congratulations! You have a story to tell that can transform the life of someone else who doesn’t suffer from a stubborn, stiff neck.

Categories
Attitude children cartoons

Are you an optimist or pessimist?

When it gets right down to it, which one are you? Are you an optimist or pessimist? Do you say the glass is half empty, half full, or has life dumped the contents all over you?

Are you and optimist or pessimist? Cartoon of an angry girl and a drenched boy. The boy says, “You may think the glass is half-empty, but I say it is half-full. At least it was before you dumped it on me.”

Have you ever experienced the ire of someone who just wants to stay in a bad mood? Boy, I have! I’ve tried to tell a few jokes, act silly, and even encourage them to join along. Usually, it goes horribly wrong. In fact, I’ve learned the best way to make a pessimist feel better is to allow them to get you down. They aren’t happy until they make you miserable. Misery loves company, right?

Continue reading “Are you an optimist or pessimist?”
Categories
Attitude cartoon motivation

Why change is so hard

There are very few of us that embrace change. We know that it makes people nervous and frustrated. Article after article affirms that. Yet if we’re honest, we will admit it is inevitable. Just why is change so hard?

Spear 3974

When I sketched this idea, I observed people about twenty years older than me resisting texting. Nine years later, many of that generation has accepted texting as just another form of communication. Time marches on!

Change is a deceptively difficult thing. We have no problem finding reasons that it is so. Even when everyone agrees changes need to be made, reform is hard. People may disagree on why and how the alterations need to be made. They may even disagree how much and how sweeping a change needs to be. It just isn’t an easy thing!

Continue reading “Why change is so hard”
Categories
Attitude motivation

Why It Is Better Not to Give Up

close up photography of four baseballs on green lawn grasses
Photo by Steshka Willems on Pexels.com

Today is a Monday. While I am writing, it is raining outside. It’s not perfect circumstances. Then again, are there ever any perfect circumstances? We may see a gloomy situation on the horizon. But there are good reasons why it is better not to give up.

“You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.”

Babe Ruth

Whenever we are convinced we can succeed, we can move forward when it looks hopeless. We can meet obstacles with confidence. Temporary setback do not deter us. Rather, we can keep going and know that sooner or later, we will succeed.

It never makes sense to give up! This link is about a game I was sure the other team won. My team looked like it wasn’t their day. However, after I turned off the TV, my team overcame a fourteen point deficit and went on to win by thirteen points. The only reason that happened is that the team never lost hope. They kept going when it looked hopeless and won.

How to Keep Going and Win

  • Expect Obstacles
  • Learn from our mistakes
  • Adjust our game plan
  • Think long-term as well as short-term
  • Look forward to the win

If we expect to be students for the rest of our lives, we can learn and adjust to any situation. Beware of the naysayers that say it is hopeless before we really have a chance to succeed. We can make a difference and win when we believe it. When we learn to change obstacles into opportunities, the win will come.