An attitude makes all difference

Many years ago two salesmen were sent by a shoe company to Africa to find out if there was a market for shoes.

The first salesman reported back, "There is no market where - nobody wears shoes." The second salesman reported back, "There is a huge market where - nobody wears shoes."

You can look at the same situation in two different ways - negatively or positively. The first salesman looked at it as a problem; the second one looked at it as an opportunity.

Next time we face a problem, let us ask ourselves "how can I do it?", rather than simply saying "it can't be done."

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There were two brothers. One was a drunk who beat his family. The other one was a respected and successful businessman and was loving and caring towards his family.

How could two brothers from the same parents, brought up in the same environment be so different? When asked they gave the following answers.

The first one replied "I became like this due to my childhood. When I was a little boy, I used to see my dad drunk and doing all the wrong things. So I became like this."

The second brother replied "I became like this due to my childhood. When I was a little boy, I used to see my dad drunk and doing all the wrong things. I decided that that is not what I wanted to be."

It is not the situation that determines our life, but how we respond to it. What happens to us is just 10% of life. How we respond to the situation decides 90% of our life. We have no control over 10% of what happens to us. However, we have control over the other 90%. We can always choose how we respond.

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What I choose to think makes my attitude. Thought influences feeling, feeling influences attitude, attitude influences destiny. Our own choice to think in a certain way is the ability and freedom that God has gifted us. Let's be aware. And read, think, speak and act well. Happy attitudinal change!