Attitude isn't everything, but I'm convinced it's more important than most of the things to which we attribute our daily outcomes. For instance, the person inclined to whine that others have obtained more breaks or to excuse his failure or poor performance by blaming someone else will more than likely sabotage himself with a poor outlook.

Friend, many things about your life and mine are simply the hand we have been dealt. For example, you can't change the fact that you were born in a certain place, with certain genetic factors for your appearance, IQ, or natural skills. Education and training can open some doors for you, but they cannot change your past, make you taller and more athletic, or alter the fact that some people are unfair in the way they treat you.

However, the one thing you can do something about is how you choose to respond to your life circumstances. Even Jesus couldn't control what other people thought about Him. But He refused to let them dictate His spirit and behaviour.

There is a section in John Baillie's "A Diary of Private Prayer" that reads as follows:

Teach me, O God, so to use all the circumstances of my life today that they may
Bring forth in me the fruits of holiness rather than the fruits of sin.
Let me use success as material for thankfulness;
Let me use suspense as material for perseverance;
Let me use danger as material for courage;
Let me use reproach as material for long suffering;

Let me use praise as material for humility;
Let me use pleasures as material for temperance;
Let me use pains as material for endurance.

Friend, what do you think enables everything in one's life to generate "the fruits of holiness rather than the fruits of sin?" What can turn such negatives as disappointment, anxiety, and criticism, into positive outcomes? And what can keep success, praise, and gratification from becoming pride? Well, when you really stop to think about it, it's our attitude that makes the difference.

Every given day brings countless things headed your way over which you have no control. It may be bad weather or someone's bad temper. Or it might be a deadline that won't budge or a client equally resistant to change. However, the one factor you can control through it all is your attitude toward them.

Friend, I sincerely hope that these thoughts we have shared in this column today might encourage you to better understand that your attitude will make all the difference in everything that matters.

Thank you for taking the time to read Discovering A BETTER LIFE. We look forward to sharing more thoughts with you next week. However, if you would like to write to us with your comments or questions, we'd be pleased to hear from you. Our address is: P.O. Box 1540, Albany WA 6331. or Email: abl-alb@omninet.net.au

Change your thoughts and
you will change your world.
Norman Vincent Peale