Attitude of Gratitude

Attitude of Gratitude

 “The last great freedom of man is the freedom to choose his attitude under any given set of circumstances.” He went on to say, “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude towards what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.”

-- Victor Frankl,, noted Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor

Not-So-Identical Twins 

There were once two brothers who were identical twins. Now, even though they looked exactly alike, they were exact opposites when it came to their personalities. One brother was an eternal optimist—he always saw good in everything and everybody. The other brother, however, was an eternal pessimist—he never saw good in anything anywhere.

One Christmas, their parents decided to try an experiment on them to see if there was any way that the two brothers could find some balance in their personalities. To the pessimist son, the parents gave a bright, shiny bicycle. To their optimist son, they gave a bag filled with nothing but straw. They put the presents under the tree with the boys’ names on them and waited to see what would happen.

On Christmas morning, the two boys ran downstairs to discover what they had received from their parents. Upon finding the bicycle, the pessimist proclaimed, “A bicycle? Why did you give me a bicycle? It’s too cold to ride outside, and besides, I will probably fall and hurt myself. I can’t believe you got me a lousy bicycle!”

The optimist opened his present, found the bag of straw and thought for a minute. Suddenly he ran to the backyard and began looking around frantically. His parents and brothers were completely puzzled, and they finally asked him, “What in the world are you doing?” To which he replied, “Well, after getting that bag of straw, I just know there’s a pony around here someplace! I just haven’t found him yet!” 

Where to Take It from Here...

Attitude can make a huge difference in your circumstances. When things happen to you at home, at school, with your friends—you have two choices. You can take the high road or the low road. The high road is to remain positive and look for the good in your situation. The low road is to be negative and to see only the bad. One road leads to happiness, the other to despair. Really, the choice is yours. Circumstances don’t have to control your life. You can instead control how those circumstances affect you. You have the power.

As Christians, we have every reason to take the high road and to be optimistic about life. Because of Christ, we have hope—real hope. We know that no matter what happens, God is in control and we have the victory that Christ won for us on the cross. The apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). That’s the kind of attitude we need to have.

                                                Attitude of Gratitude

Philippians 2:5 -Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

 1.  Attitude is (almost) Everything

 Attitude makes a huge difference in most things.  

 Your attitude is communicated to others in three ways,—7 percent by words, 38 percent by tone of voice and 55 percent in non-verbal ways, such as posture. 

 Maxwell’s Materials for Attitude

1.  Personality – Who I am

2.  Environment – What’s around me

3.  Word Expression – What I hear

4.  Adult Acceptance/Affirmation – What I feel

5.  Self Image – How I see Myself

6.  Exposure to New Experiences – Opportunities for Growth

7.  Association with Peers – Who Influences Me

8.  Physical Appearance – How We Look to Others

9.  Marriage, family and Job – Our Security and Status

Attitude can make a difference in most things but no matter how good my attitude, i'll never fly or play in the NBA.

 2.  Even though attitude come from the inside you can see it on the outside.

 A little boy was in negations with his mother and she demanded he sit down.  "i'm not going to sit down" he insidiously declared.  "You will sit down or you will be in big trouble when your father gets home mister."  "OK, he reluctantly surrendered, as he sat on the couch.  "i'm sitting down on the outside but on the inside, i'm standing up."

There is a gage on aircraft that is the attitude meter, NOT the altitude (although there is one of those too).  when the planes attitude is positive the noes of the plane is up and so is its attitude.  conversely when the plane is dipping down; so is the nose and the attitude on the attitude meter.

 3.  Meanings, Definitions and making sense of it all.

Gratitude means the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.  the word was derived from Latin, Grace, meaning God's favor or help.

 The definition for Attitude is a bit more varied.  there are several which are listed below but the interesting fact is that the work initially meant "position" or "posture".

1.	manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, esp. of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes.

2.	position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc.: a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude.

3.	Aeronautics. the inclination of the three principal axes of an aircraft relative to the wind, to the ground, etc.

4.	Ballet. a pose in which the dancer stands on one leg, the other bent behind.

So in layman's terms, attitude of gratitude is the outward display (posture) and acknowledgement God's favor on our life.

4.  An Attitude of Gratitude...

 IS                                                                                                    IS NOT

Humble, grateful, thoughtful                                                           Assuming, arrogant, selfish

Serving                                                                                           Demanding

Gracious                                                                                         Disagreeable

Proactive                                                                                         Lazy

Christ-Like                                                                                       Normal, human nature

    add your own....

5.  Conclusion - Just do something.

Every things counts with attitude.  It begins inside but works its way out.   

A prayer, a random act of kindness, giving someone your parking space, a hi five, an encouraging word or even a smile.

Scientists in Sweden have figured out why it's so difficult to keep a straight face if others around you are grinning away. It's your unconscious mind taking control. The researchers at Uppsala University had volunteers look at pictures of expressionless, happy, and angry faces. In return they were told to adopt blank, happy, or angry expressions. When they had to meet a smile with a frown, or a frown with a smile, they had trouble. Twitching in the subjects' faces -- measured with electronic equipment -- indicated they simply didn't have control of their muscles. It's believed that there's a shortcut to the part of the brain that recognizes faces and expressions that bypasses the area responsible for conscious processing.

  

A SMILE costs nothing, but gives much.

It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give.

It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.

None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but that

he can be made rich by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and is nature's best antidote for trouble.

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen.For it is something that is of no

value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile.

Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as

he who has no more to give."