Pretty cheesy blog heading? I agree… it’s not the most original; but recently I’ve been with friends and clients where this has been a huge focus of conversation and I’d like to throw in my two cents. This may not first appear to have anything to do with fitness and nutrition but it totally does and perhaps by the end of this blog post, you may agree – or not…
I came across this quote during my high school days and at the time, I didn’t understand much of anything really but it did strike a chord with me and I’d like to say it has stayed with me from then until now – especially during the darker times when things feel like crap. With the recent events and experiences that are happening around me, I’d like to share this with you in hopes that it may help you in one form or another.
Attitude
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.
— Charles Swindoll
Wow — that was crazy cheesy, eh? But I love it. I find it so majestically true and awesome that even 20-some odd years later it still strikes a chord with me; even now that I’m a tad wiser than before. Sometimes shit happens to us, and it’s really bad – so bad that it makes us question life and our place in the world. Other times, it’s not so bad, but it’s friggin’ annoying as heck; and it’s your attitude that can make all the difference.
Your attitude towards yourself, your physical body, your mind can be positive or negative. It can inspire change and improvement, or it can keep you stagnant and beat you down. It’s not always easy to have the right attitude towards life; but if you do see others who have a certain joie de vivre, spend more time with them. Their attitude and behaviour will rub off on you – it’s been shown to really work!
If you need a kick start, exercise is one of the best ways as it releases the natural feel-good hormone endorphins.
See you in class!