As I mentioned on my other blog of NYT bestseller book, I read "The Happiness Equation" by Niel Pasricha is an excellent quick read. In one of the 9 secrets, he talks about a quote from Charles Swindoll a famous Texas preacher who said the following about Attitude.
| The Longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts, it's more important than the past, it more important 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 church....a home...a friendship. The remarkable thing is we have a choice each day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day. We cannot change our past...we cannot alter 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 we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you..we are in charge of our Attitudes. |
A research publication that came out of University of Califonia's psychology department authored by Sonja Lyumbomirsky tells us exactly how much of our happiness is based on life circumstances. Surprise...surprise they empirically calculated it at to be around 10%. It is 10% of what happens to us. 90% of our happiness is basically how we see or react to the world around us. As Niel puts it "it is our pre-disposition, and our intentional responses and they affect mental happiness'. The author also cites some cool quotes that I find inspiring and insightful.
Aristotle says "Happiness depends on our ourselves."
Viktor Frankl, the Nazi Holocaust survivor, famously said: "Everything can be taken from a man, but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances"
Winston Churchill "Attitude is a little thing that makes a really big difference"
Walt Whitman writes "Keep always your face towards the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you."
Today in my reading of Proverbs 17: 23 perfectly lined up to my thoughts "A Joyful heart is a good medicine" ... and indeed it is! It sums it all up for me in the adage: "My attitude will determine my altitude."
So my prayer for today is:
"O Lord keep in me a tender heart and teachable spirit. Let you face shine on me, and the countenance of your favor keep my attitudes centered around love, focused on You! Let my going out and going in be in the majesty of who Christ is and who Christ is for me. Let your Holy Spirit govern, renew and illuminate my spirit, so my heart, mind, and body are tools for the demonstration of your power and your love".
Blessings & Shalom,
Dr. Sam Kurien
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