Tag: attitude

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Attitude motivation

How Do You Stay Optimistic in a Pessimist’s World?

Cartoon of an angry girl and a drenched boy

Have you ever noticed that when someone is in a bad mood, they’re rarely interested in a dose of optimism?

My family was getting ready for a spring break trip. For whatever reason, my wife was having a bad day. It’s entirely possible I wasn’t doing my share of the preparation. It could be that the kids were tired and grumpy. For whatever reason, she seemed to be down and I decided it was my duty to cheer her up.

  • I tried silly jokes
  • I tried making humorous observations about the crazy drivers
  • I tried countering every negative comment with some wisecrack
  • I tried counting our blessings
  • I even tried making a silly face and getting right up to hers

The last one was a big mistake. Even though we were married, I voided her personal space. There’s only so much my poor wife could take. I went from being a purveyor of good, clean fun to just being obnoxious and annoying. She snapped. I realized my mistake and began to pout.

Minutes later, I noticed something. She was in a much better mood and I was the one in the dumps. My efforts worked, just not in the way I expected. She poured the glass of optimism all over me and she felt much better.

So how do you stay optimistic in a world that isn’t having any of it? I learned three lessons that day.

  • It is unwise to base your feelings on the emotions of someone else, even those closest to you
  • Being annoyingly optimistic and obnoxious about it can only irritate others
  • When someone closest to you is down, it’s sometimes best to give them the space to feel their emotions

We ended up having a great trip. I learned a valuable lesson about relationships. And yes, we both have learned a lot about optimism over the years.

Cartoon of an angry girl and a drenched boy
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Attitude children cartoons motivation

When Did You Find Out You Were the Problem?

Cartoon of girl and teddy bear. Girl says “I don’t like your taste in television.”

Frequently, we blame others for the problems we are facing. We think life would be perfect if only that person got their act together. We believe we are helpless to change circumstances and if only that person did their job correctly, things would be perfect!

It never occurs to us, we may have the solution. We are like the girl in my cartoon. She believes her teddy bear is keeping her from her favorite TV show. When she realizes she can change the channel, she may be in a much better mood.

If you are going through a challenge today, consider if you have more control than you realize. At the very least, we have control of our own attitude. If you are allowing someone to get under your skin, reconsider why you are giving that person that kind of control over your emotions. You have more choices than you realize.

Have you ever had a challenging time that became better once you realized you had more control than you thought? Share it in the comments.

Cartoon of girl and teddy bear. Girl says “I don’t like your taste in television.”
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motivation

Growing Up and Learning to Laugh

Cartoon of two biblical characters complaining

You grow up the day you have the first real laugh at yourself.

Ethel Barrymore

The story of Moses and the Israelites have always intrigued me. Here is a story about a group of people that found their freedom through a series of miracles, yet they had the tendency to moan and groan. Their complaining turned a two-week trip into a forty-year camping ordeal. It was such an interesting story to me that I made a coloring and activity book out of it.

Things would have turned out much better if they had faith and realized how silly they were acting. Of course, that also means things will turn out better for me when I remember to do the same.

This cartoon stands out to me because when I wrote this, I had lived in the same place for years. My address was not more than fifty miles from my birthplace. I had never lived anywhere but Central Indiana until five years ago. Now I see myself in this cartoon and laugh at our adventures and misadventures over the last five years.

It’s not much fun to be around someone who either has forgotten to laugh at themselves or never learned to. I am thankful I have learned to laugh over the years.

Have you learned to laugh at yourself? Let us know in the comments below.

Cartoon of two biblical characters complaining

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motivation

Of Clowns and Parents

Cartoon of clown dad and son

My kids probably thought I was a clown at times. I’ve spent the better part of thirty years coming up with cartoon gags, being silly in front of a large group of elementary kids and firing off one-liners at occasionally inappropriate times.

Cartoon of clown dad and son

I have taken pride in getting someone to laugh, especially when they were feeling down. I take less pride in the times I was more immature than funny. It has happened much more than I would like to admit.

I have learned over the years that attacking immaturity with an immature attitude never works. If a child has an anger issue, striking back with an angrier, overpowering tone may appear to work. But in the long term, it only makes parents and children angrier.

Do as I say, not as I do may sound catchy, but we all know the hypocrisy of such a saying. I have been there, parents. When your kids are acting up, keep your cool. Stay mature and save the clowning for intentionally fun times. You can do it! I tip my polka dot hat with the squirting daisy to you!

Categories
motivation

No Victim of Circumstance!

Cartoon of a mom and two boys

The new year and decade is almost upon us! I am thinking of new goals and plans for the coming year. There will be a lot going on, including a wedding for my daughter, a new career for my wife, and a new book or two from my pen/word processor (hold me to this one!)

The other day, I read a great article by Melissa Chu entitled, 8 ways you’re making life harder than it has to be. It had some great nuggets of wisdom. I encourage you to read all eight. One that stuck out to me was the last one; pouring your energy into something outside of your control. Chu wrote,

When you wait for someone to choose you, or for a chance event to transform your life, you’re essentially pouring your energy into unproductive emotions and thoughts.

Melissa Chu

I’ve done this to myself several times. So often, I’ve heard a great sermon and what do I do? I think of someone else that needs to change instead of considering what I need to do. There have been times in my life when I have been down and expected someone to come to my rescue or something that would happen to change everything. the problem with that attitude is I start sounding like Curly from the Three Stooges.

I’m a victim of circumstance… not!

Chu’s article is a good reminder for me that I need to focus on my Internal Locus of Control instead of the External Locus of Control. I can’t control others, nor should I. Who am I to control another person?

This coming year, I’ll pray for others instead of trying to control them. And I’ll focus on the things I can control, like my attitude, my decisions, and my resolve to learn and grow.