Sometimes life throws us a curve ball or two. How we choose to respond to such occasions can dictate the outcome of our efforts, and most certainly our happiness (or lack thereof) in getting there.
J.C. Maxwell wrote, in “Attitude 101: What every leader needs to know” (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers,) that “often our attitude is the only difference between success and failure.” He also states that “our attitude at the beginning of a task will affect it’s outcome more than anything else.”
In his article “Service and Happiness,” Jacob de Jager of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or Mormon Church) wrote about his ideas on how to maintain a cheerful disposition throughout life’s ups and downs.
He says you must learn to be satisfied because, “it is just as easy as being dissatisfied – and much more pleasant.” Have you ever met someone who just seems happy all the time and for a moment you were tricked into believing (or maybe you did believe it!) that the person never had any trouble in his or her life? Then you found out that in truth the person was struggling with trials of their own and yet you never knew it – because they had seemed so happy. Do you think that person’s trials were any less significant than another’s? And yet who do you think suffered more, the person with the bad atttitude, or the person with the happy attitude? I’d say the person with the happier attitude will come through their trials better off than the person with the bad attitude. I have a neighbor who, when asked how he is, always replies “Never been better!” It took me a long time to realize he was not always so happy or life really wasn’t always better than ever. But he was so much more pleasant to be around because he gave the ‘never been better’ impression. I want to be like him.
de Jager also says that we must learn to accept adversity. “No matter who you are or where you serve, you are going to have some. But do not fear the winds of adversity. Remember, a kite rises against the wind, rather than with it!” From the moment we stood to take our first steps and fell flat on our face, adversity has been a part of our lives. Just like when we were children we must learn to get up again, try again.
Get into the habit of saying pleasant things rather than making negative remarks. Like my friend and his ‘never been better,’ you can brighten the world around you with your attitude and the words you choose to use.
de Jager also recommends that you “live the present moment to the hilt, and do not live in the past or in the future. Success is a journey, not a destination.” If you wait for that better day to play with your children, or to finally relax, you may find yourself old and gray with precious few happy memories to sustain you. Just as they say not to put off till tomorrow what you can do today, why also put off your own happiness?
Elder David B. Haight of the Council of the Twelve said
“People grow old only by deserting their ideals, their faith. There is always the love of wonder, a childlike appetite for what is next, and the joy of your life. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear or despair.
“In the center of our heart is a recording chamber, and so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage, and faith, so long are we young” (Ensign, Nov. 1983, p. 25.)
That is a wonderful quote I think I’ll have to stick up on my fridge. I want to remember it and apply it my life. I hope you will feel the same way. I hope that you will find the courage and the strength to face your challenges head on with a attitude and a cheerful disposition and with that happy attitude achieve the success you deserve.
