In the last post (Keeping Drama Energy at Bay) we looked at how to deal with the drama queens in our life. We learned that we can keep their energy from entering our space by using a protection rose to deflect any victim or woe-is-me energy headed our way.
But what if we are the drama maker? Yes…it happens, even to the best of us. It’s nearly impossible to live a simple life if we are blaming ourselves or others for our particular emotional roller coaster ride of the week.
A shortened version of the following prose by Charles Swindoll about attitude has hung on my office wall for a number of years. I thought you might like to see the full version from his 1981 radio message series entitled Strengthening Your Grip.
Attitudes
The longer I live, the more I realize the importance of choosing the right attitude in life.
Attitude is more important than facts.
It is more important than your past;
more important than your education or your financial situation;
more important than your circumstances, your successes, or your failures;
more important than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than your appearance, your giftedness, or your skills.
It will make or break a company. It will cause a church to soar or sink.
It will make the difference between a happy home or a miserable home.
You have a choice each day regarding the attitude you will embrace.
Life is like a violin.
You can focus on the broken strings that dangle,
or you can play your life’s melody on the one that remains.
You cannot change the years that have passed,
nor can you change the daily tick of the clock.
You cannot change the pace of your march toward your death.
You cannot change the decisions or reactions of other people.
And you certainly cannot change the inevitable.
Those are strings that dangle!
What you can do is play on the one string that remains—your attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me
and 90 percent how I react to it.
The same is true for you.
Copyright © 1981, 1982 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Used by permission.
You cannot change events that are happening to you, nor can you change the other person. The only thing you can change is your reaction to the event or person. You, and no one else, are in charge of your thoughts and emotions. You can decide how you react when your boss hands you a task that needs to be completed immediately. Only you can decide if you become aggravated or angry, whether you cuss and scream, or whether you remain calm and unruffled. Only you can decide how you want to view the situation. You cannot change your boss. However, you are in charge of you. Choosing your thoughts allows you to choose your attitude, and by choosing your attitude, you choose—every moment of every day—the resulting experience.
Choosing your attitude is not glossing over the event or putting on that fake smile we sometimes wear in public. There are times when being angry is the appropriate response – and that’s OK.
Choosing your attitude is about knowing that you are in command of your response. You are not blaming others or being a victim to your circumstance, you are acknowledging that you have a choice in how you react.
You get to choose. Your life is what you make of it. There is a gap, maybe a nanosecond or two, but still a gap, between the feelings of anger, resentment, or frustration and your drama-filled reaction to that feeling. See if you can sense that gap. Therein lies your power.
Choose your thoughts, choose your actions, choose your life.
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