Attitude is everything

Attitude is everything                                                                                                   120910

            There are many things that guarantee success or failure in life, depending on how you use them. Attitude is one of them. If you have a good attitude you have a way of going high and in like manner a bad attitude will guarantee your downfall.

            There are many different attitudes that we can talk about but I want to focus on two this week. These two have a way of lifting you up to heights that you may have never thought of reaching.

            The first attitude we want to focus on is the attitude of gratitude. A grateful spirit is appreciated by all. If you do something for someone and that individual comes back and genuinely say thank you, you will feel obliged to help the same person again and again. There is a good feeling that you have when someone says ‘thank you’. It makes you feel important, and that feeling is so good that if there is someone who always thanks you when you do them a favor then you will do it every time even though all you get is the same verbal thank you.

            If you have an attitude that says thank you for everything you receive then you will have many people who are eager to help you. That way you will have a support system, something you will greatly need when you get to the top where the attitude of gratitude will take you.

            Many parents bring something for their children when they come home. The children who enthusiastically show their gratitude usually get more presents. It does not mean the parents thrive on the ‘thank you’ that the child gives, but it gives them pleasure to know their little one appreciates their efforts. The children who learn this lesson quickly usually go far in life.

            When Jesus healed the ten leapers and only one came back to say thank you, he asked about the other nine. The man who came back got a blessing on top of the healing because he showed gratitude. God does not need our thanks for Him to become God. He is always the Great God whether we appreciate him or not. He however encourages us to be grateful for all the gifts He gives us. When we are grateful He takes us to a higher level and as long as we maintain an attitude of gratitude we will continually be lifted up to the next level.

            The opposite to the attitude of gratitude is an attitude that says ‘I deserve everything from everyone and they better give it to me fast”. With this attitude you cannot thank anyone who does a favor for you because you believe it is your right to receive the favor. The problem is that the people who do such a favor may feel it is their right to receive gratitude from you as well. In that case they will not feel great when you refuse to thank them and as a result they do not do you another favor. Unfortunately the only person who suffers in such a scenario is you because you need people to do certain things for you. This attitude is a sure way of going down quickly.

When people do what is their duty to do, it is a good thing to learn to thank them anyway. There are many instances when some people have gone out of their way to do things beyond their call of duty because someone has shown appreciation for their services. Those who feel unappreciated do not feel obliged to do any more than the bare minimum because they do not get satisfaction from their work. Those who are satisfied can do anything over and above their call of duty. All this is to the advantage of the genuinely grateful clients. This is only possible if you develop an attitude of gratitude.

The other attitude that will ensure that you keep going up is an attitude of humility. Humility is very much against human nature. This is because everyone wants to be seen as being greater than the rest. Those who are humble are, in the final analysis greater than those who refuse to be humble. It is only the great who do not feel threatened by bowing down to others. Those whose greatness in only in their minds will feel downgraded when they humble themselves.

The Bible says that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Choosing an attitude of pride over that of humility sets you up for serious downfall, because always “Pride comes before a fall”. If you see a man going around in pride, be sure that sooner than later he will be down on his face. If the situations around fail to make that happen, the Lord God who says that he opposes the proud will make sure it is accomplished.

It is easy to be proud because it comes naturally to all of us. It is at the same time important to appreciate that a fall naturally comes after pride and if you  do not control the first, then the second comes immediately afterwards, and you do not have anything that you can do about the fall when it comes as a result of pride.

Humility and gratitude may seem like small things to an ordinary eye, but they are responsible for taking men and women higher than they have ever imagined. If you want to become great and be viewed as such by all, make an effort to remain humble and thankful. Everyone will appreciate it and the returns that you have will be more than you can ever bargain for.