JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
For as long as I can remember, I have always placed an emphasis on having a great attitude. Let's face it, life throws us a whole lot of curve balls but with the right attitude, you can connect on those curve balls and hit them out of the park. With the wrong attitude you just may strike out. The choice is always yours.
We have all been through situations, both in military and civilian life, where we could have easily given up and let the situation get the best of us. At the end of the day, a positive attitude helps you cope more easily with the daily affairs of life. It brings optimism into your life and makes it easier to overcome worries and avoid negative thinking. If you adopt it as a way of life, it brings constructive changes into your life and can make you happier, brighter and more successful.
With a positive attitude, you see the bright side of life, become optimistic and expect the best to happen. It is certainly a state of mind that is well worth developing. I recently read an article about the Power of Positive Attitude. The author gave some simple tips for developing a positive attitude, which are listed below:
1. Choose to be happy. Yes, it is a matter of choice. When negative thoughts enter your mind, just refuse to look at them, do your best to substitute them with happy thoughts.
2. Look at the bright side of life. It's a matter of choice and repeated attempts.
3. Choose to be optimistic.
4. Find reasons to smile more often. You can always find such reasons.
5. Have faith in yourself.
6. Associate yourself with positive people.
7. Read inspiring stories and quotes.
8. Visualize only what you want to happen, not what you don't want.
9. Learn to master your thoughts
Keep these things in mind and, every morning when you wake, remember you have two choices. You can choose to be in a good mood or not. I choose good. Each time something bad happens, you choose to be a victim or a victor. I choose the latter. Every time someone comes to me complaining, which as a commander, happens quite often, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life and work toward constructive solutions. I choose the positive side of life. After all, when you cut away all of the chaos and clutter, life is truly about choices.
Just remember the next time life throws you a curve ball, it is your choice if you are going to hit a home run or strike out. I choose to swing and swing hard. Life is simple "It's All Attitude."