It's our Attitude

The other night my wife and I were playing a board game with our daughters prior to their bedtime. It was a school night so we were trying to move the game along quickly so they would not stay up too late, resulting in a “tired morning” for them. The game was Chutes and Ladders. A great game for younger kids as it helps them to count and focus.

About 15 minutes after starting the game, my wife was the first one to reach the finish line, making her the winner. My daughters and I continued to play and a short while later, my youngest reached the finished line as well. By this time, I was about done with the game mentally and it was getting closer to their bedtime. So I left the game and my wife stepped in to fill my spot. About ten minutes later, I heard my oldest daughter yelling down the hall: YEAH….WOO HOO! I put two and two together and realized she had crossed the finish line! A moment later as she walked down the hall to where I was, I asked her if she was at all upset because she had not won the game. Her reply to me left me almost speechless, “What do you mean Dad, I did win, I beat you.”

Of all the tools you and I carry around with us perhaps our attitude is the most critical and the most powerful. It can help us soar to new heights or aid us in temporary setbacks. My daughter’s attitude at that moment was so positive it literally made all the difference in the world for her. The difference between struggling, being upset and procrastinating going to bed or ending her day knowing she had just beaten her Dad at a game. Yes, I was very proud of her, that she chose to look at the glass half-full rather than half-empty. Maybe some of my “can do” attitude is rubbing off on her!

Looking back on this fun family night, what I find most interesting is the game we played had an ending no one could predict. None of us knew who would come in first and who would come in last. No one knew who would be sent back to the bottom and who would advance to the top. The game was played out the only way it could have been. This is very much like our lives, isn’t it? We rarely know what tomorrow is going to bring and usually don’t even know what the next hour will bring. Yet all the way through to the end we have an “attitude.” Good, bad or indifferent, it is there and we move forward with it the best we can. Just as a game is played or our lives are lived, there is our attitude. And yes, I agree, that it truly is our attitude that determines our altitude.

My daughter’s attitude toward how the game ended made a world of difference for her, which resulted in making the bedtime routine a little easier for my wife and me. So really, not only does it have an immediate effect on ourselves but others around us as well. I know that not all the time do our kids have a good attitude. When they do, it might be a good idea to show them the difference it makes to everyone around them. They, too, need to understand when they have the right attitude in life it can lift them to new heights, or destruct the best well thought out plan. For this reason alone, I am a firm believer in kids being involved, to some degree, in sports. It teaches them not only how to work as a team, but to be a winning team they ALL need to have a “can do” attitude, not just one or two of them.

Regardless of what you and I do, where we go or who we see, we are going to do it with a very radiant attitude. You see, we get to carry our attitude with us every where we go and anyone around us will be able to see it. We can choose that attitude each and every day in everything we do. Granted, some days it may be easier to choose a good attitude, but none the less, it is still our choice. It’s not your spouse’s choice, your boss’s choice or your family’s choice. It is your choice and I want to encourage you to choose wisely. Regardless of what or where tomorrow leads you, choose to have a great attitude. One of my local favorite restaurants I take my family to has a sign on the wall and it reads: “Ask yourself a question, is my attitude worth catching?

Have blessed Friday everyone.


Scott Stewart

Author, Speaker and Inspiring others to a life of greatness.

scott@lovelossandgrowth.com

541-343-3614