Do you have a positive attitude? My guess is if you're reading this, you struggled with a positive attitude from time to time. I mean, we all can’t be Positive Penelope all the time. Life is more complicated than that.
Well, at least my life is more complicated. Blissfully positive doesn’t mesh up well with the realities of my life. It’s hard to stay positive when you have a child with Leukemia or when your mom took her life when you were pregnant.
Ok, so maybe you don’t have this level of tragedy in your life per se, but you don’t need epic tragedy in your life to shake you off the positive train.
The reality is a positive attitude can be a struggle in everyday life too. I don’t think I’ve come across a mom who has a positive attitude about cleaning markers off the walls, harping at kids to do their homework, or vacuuming up the glitter explosion that was an “accident.”
& then I found him
Thing is I pretty much sucked at finding nice guys to date from day one. This wasn't just a problem in my “adult” relationships, either. If I think hard enough back to every childhood crush, I had the jerk factor was pretty much everywhere too.
You could say this was just the intrinsic value of growing up in the Southern Suburbs of the Chicagoland area, but I’m not sure I would whole-heartedly agree.
What I can tell you is when I met him & we started dating. I. Was. Blown. Away.
He was actually nice. & this wasn’t just a “because I’m supposed to” nice. Early in our dating adventure, I remember asking myself, “Is this guy for real?”
Listen, we already established that I’m NOT Positive Penelope. & no, my marriage hasn’t been a Fairy Tale, but I’ve learned to focus on the NEXT Fairy Tale Moment in the middle of the crappy ones. This is where the secret power is.
Did you hear what I’m saying? It’s kind of important. The secret is in focusing on that next fairy tale moment. Got it?
Rising up out of a Crappy Situation
There was this guy named Peter. He was a motivational speaker. Though he was great & amazing at his job, His passion for his message often got him arrested.
As you can imagine, his life was full of fairy tale moments as well as crappy ones too. (The idea of being a prisoner is bad enough let along if you were imprisoned for sharing Good News with someone).
The thing is he didn’t let his crappy days get in the way of his purpose. He just walked right through them.
Acts 12:9-11 --9 The cell door opened noiselessly, the Angel led the way and Peter followed. During all of this, Peter thought he must be dreaming or having a vision. 10 On the way out, they passed the second set of guards by his cell, who also stood motionless. When they got to the big iron gates leading to the city, it opened just as noiselessly comma and they walked past the regular guards and on outside. As they made their way down the side of the streets, suddenly the Angel disappeared. 11 That's when Peter came to, as if waking from a dream. He felt the chill of the night air and said to himself, “This isn't a dream! This is real life! The Lord sent His angel to deliver me from Harold and from what the Jews were expecting!”
My guess was when he was arrested, he never thought of being led out by an Angel. Who would think of that as a possible solution, right? The thing is it happened, though.
He didn’t focus on the crappy part of the jail. He just kept his focus on all the things in his life that were amazing & wonderful, & the next thing he knew, he was living his real-life fairy-tale moment too!
The Secret Power of Positive Attitude
So, what’s the secret, then you ask? The secret is to keep seeking out that next miracle or fairy tale moment in your life. We all have them. Trust me. Sometimes we let the negativity in our lives overwhelm us & then, we start believing a false reality of there being nothing good in your life.
Try focusing on how life can get better than this. Do it! I dare you!
What’s going to happen next? Well, I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. You’re going to become the badass main character in your own action romance film. (yes, I know that action-romance films aren’t a thing, but don’t forget this is MY movie)
Every good movie has ups & downs in it, right? In most movies, the main character never loses hope in their cause. They keep their positive attitude no matter what the cost.
If it happens in movies, why can’t it happen in your life?
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