Attitude IS important. We've all heard that before. But do we really know what it means, or how it affects us? That is the tricky part, and it relates to energy. I know I have said many time that whatever we put the most energy into is what we draw to us. If we fear a lot, then we make what we fear come true. But if we put our energy into envisioning good outcomes, instead of worrying about problems, then we draw those good outcomes to us.
But that aside, how we face situations is more important then what we do. Our attitude will drive us to the best or worst action depending on what that attitude is. We can face a problem with a world-ending attitude, or with one of solving a new challenge. And while it may seem overly simplified to look at it that way, we know that most problems are not simple. In fact, they can be life altering. But even then, how we face things changes how we perceive them, and changes how we handle them, and changes how we feel.
We have all heard the expression where some hero in some fictional story 'laughs in the face of danger'. That does not mean that one does not prepare. That does not mean that one is not afraid to a point. It means that even with all the adversities and possible outcomes, we still accept the challenge and move head on to confront it.
I am sure that we have all seen stories where the teenage girl breaks up with her boyfriend and declares "My life is over!" And we all know that this girl will eventually move on, and her life won't be over. Just as when someone gets a cold or some such illness, and feels miserable, they may feel like the end of the world. Yet, they will get over their illness and be better about it. The key is that they can sit around and feel miserable, or they can realize that it will be over soon and put a positive spin on getting better.
But there are real situations where someone can contract some illness that is going to kill them, like cancer. (And while there are various treatments ranging from conventional to holistic, and there are many success stories with various types of cancer, we are not going to talk about them in this article.) When one finds out that they have this illness, they can sit down and be miserable because they are going to die, or they can face it head on with a positive attitude, laughing in the face of danger if you will.
We recently had a client that has stage 4 colon cancer. He had exhausted all conventional medical treatment except chemotherapy. He was told that this process would only extend his life, not save it. He decided that he did not want to spend what time he had left sitting in a chair and drooling, so he is looking into holistic treatments.
One of the things he said to me was that he heard that there is more oxygen in the mornings, which is why birds sing in the morning. Because of this, he has been getting up early and watching the sunrise each morning, and feeling good about it. Now, is there more oxygen in the mornings, and do birds sing then because of it? I doubt it. But the fact that this makes him feel good about himself is magic in itself. His attitude makes him feel better, therefore he is better, and whatever chances he has, have increased.
We have all heard about the placebo effect, a known medical phenomena. If one truly believes in a certain pill curing what they have, then taking this pill will get rid of the problem whether it be a headache, or pain, or a number of other things. The fact that this pill is nothing but sugar has nothing to do with it. In the reverse, one can block the effects of real medications by disbelieving in them. So by taking a positive attitude, and putting energy out there of getting better, can this client we had survive cancer? Who knows? Anything is possible.
And this attitude thing is important for everything. If someone sits around saying that they hate their job, then they will be miserable. If they accept it and deal with it knowing they will survive that job, then it will be easier.
How you work with things, how you look at them, how you adjust your attitude is more important than what you do. In fact, that attitude will direct you in what to do. If your attitude is negative, then you will bring on the problems harder and quicker. If you have a positive attitude, those things will appear easier and the good times will last longer.
So, what does your attitude say about you?