Attitude

Yesterday I shared one of my favorite quotes from Charles Swindoll.  I had this quote up in my room in college and still have it in my office.  It's called "Attitude":

"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 or 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 will 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 on 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."

That's a pretty powerful sentiment.  We spend so much of our time worrying about the things we cannot control, especially the motives, words and actions of other people.  We fret about the economy and our health, and both of those things can have a big impact on our quality of life.  However, the focus of nearly every circumstance we face should be, "What is my attitude about this?" 

I find that when I'm in a bit of a funk, it's because I've had a bad attitude about something or someone.  I have to step back and ask God to speak to my heart, to soften my heart for someone or narrow my focus.  Attitude is so important because life is bound to throw you difficult situations.  What is true in sports is true in life -- you can't win 'em all.  You can't.  You won't.  You'll have some losses along the way.  And, when that happens, you and I have to decide if we are going to let those moments define us or will our attitude overcome every defeat we face.

I think the misnomer about attitude is that we think it means that we're always in a good mood or take things lightly.  That's not it at all.  Attitude is about taking the right things so seriously that the things that aren't the right things never overwhelm us.  Attitude is about seeing the bigger picture in God's Kingdom and even our own lives.  Attitude is understanding what will be important to us when we're 90.  Attitude is believing is something much bigger than circumstances.  If we are followers of Christ, we have little excuse to have a bad attitude.  We have been given much.  Our eternity secure in His grace.  Isn't everything else gravy?  Let us have the attitude of Christ, whatever may come.