Spring Into A New Attitude

Such comfort as do lusty young men feel,
When well-apparelled April on the heel,
Of limping Winter treads, even such delight,
Among fresh female buds shall you this night,
Inherit at my house
- (Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet)

With spring upon us, the above text taken from the play of youth and budding new opportunity. Ourselves can take spring to make the old, new again. To make a fresh start with the promise of growth and renewed vitality. 'Spring' into a new attitude and your life will grow in abundance.

Quality - The Road Continues

From the good folks at www.despair.com. Note the intended humor in it but understand that for all of us, striving for quality where we work never ends.

The road ahead of us whether it is in business or in our personal lives stretches on. You should understand that achieving one level of goodness only sets us up to achieve another level.

So sure, it may seem like a 'death march', but greatness does await each of us. Success in this march to quality of work and life will be yours.

Drink From The Well Of Life

Heard an interesting statement the other day, "movement doesn't take place with 'stinky thinking'. It happens with positive thinking." This comes from Steve Bullen, a pastor at my local church and it was in reference to preparing yourself to move ahead in life. The 'stinky thinking' refers to always being negative about any given situation.

So easy it has become for all of us to look at the down side of most any situation. So easy to wallow in the negativity of anything gone bad. So easy to let these things bring our own attitude down. It breaks our strength, it weakens our ability to push through to what is more important. Is it that much easier to be negative? Does it take more energy to be positive?

I have read different studies that have shown it takes more muscles to frown then to smile. Even if it isn't so, I still hold the belief that smiling is much better for you and consumes much less of your energy. And what is it you can do with this added energy?

Use that energy to improve your life, to drink from the well of goodness that life has to offer. With that energy, you will have the strength to move that rock which covers the well. To push that rock aside and drink from all that life has to offer.

At a place called Andersonville Civil War Prison Camp in the U.S. state of Georgia (also known as Camp Sumter), the differences of men imprisoned during the war came to a boil. Conditions had worsened to a point at which water flowing in a small stream became intolerable. Many of the men prayed for water and many wished for divine intervention. Many put away their differences to work as one and to try and create better conditions.

It then happened one thunderous and stormy night. It is said that lightening struck the ground and a new and previously unknown water spring began to flow. There is no scientific explanation for this but many felt it was a sign from above. The earth opened, the water flowed and it was named Providence Spring.

Set aside your 'stinky thoughts' and develop a positive look in life. Drink from the Providence Spring that will come forth.

Your Own Attitude

“The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up.” -John Maxwell

When that day came for me, it lifted a heaviness that always seemed to be upon my life. I have spoken of this before in terms of 'rocks within your wagon'. I realized that responsibility for how I felt, how I reacted and what my attitude towards life was mine and mine alone. At that moment many of those 'rocks' evaporated. They became unimportant in the bigger scheme of things. That bigger scheme just happened to be my life and how I was living in it.

It would be foolish of me to claim that I have no struggles with attitude from time to time. But over the years I have learned to recognize the struggle is starting. To fight it off, you begin remembering the positive and important things in your life. You slow down, you stop and you think about what it is that is happening or just happened.

Accept responsibility for your self - for your own attitude - life will grow all around you.