Sunday, 23 January 2011

It's all in the attitude

Ah, sweet Planetarians! Apologies for that little break in transmission - life on Planet Baby just got in the way of blogging for a few days . As can happen. Often. Normal transmission will now resume. You'll be pleased to know that this weekend, I've been connecting with some dear friends - a visit to see some just out of Hobart and a fabulous two hour (!) phonecall to another in faraway Canada. Ah, the brilliance of Skype! We enjoyed ourselves so much, we've resolved to do it once a month. Our weekend has also involved raspberry picking (talk about scrumptious!), choosing flowers and vegetable plants at the nursery and a lot of planting and gardening in the summer sun. 

That's left me a little short of time to write a post from scratch (remember how I'm trying to get to bed earlier?!). Instead, I'd like to share with you a quotation of Charles R Swindoll to which I really relate. 
The longer I live, the more I realise 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 failure, 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 or 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% of how I react to it. And so it is with you.  We are in charge of our attitudes.
It really gets you thinking, doesn't it? Thinking this way allows me to feel more 'in control' of situations instead of feeling the 'victim'. It takes a lot of hard effort to change the lens on the camera through which we view life. This reminds me that it's worth the attempt. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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32 comments:

  1. I love that Jane. It is all in how we react to things. Sounds like you have had a lovely break from Blog world xx

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  2. What a lovely weekend it sounds as though you've had! I love the attitude quote - and I agree. I feel as though I've had to work on my attitude all my life - I'm not a born optimist.

    How were the raspberries? did any make it home?!

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  3. It's so true. I have recently been trying to adapt how I think and react in situations, which in turn affects how my girls react in return. And it has been good, but there are days when it gets the better of me.
    Thank you for this timely reminder, Jane!
    Sounds like you've had a lovely time catching up and 'connecting', good for you xo

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  4. A sterling ideal - I agree we need to repsond in a more direct note, not be the victim and cutail to others whims, and not to be that person who is "grey". I'm not a conflict person, I step back from it, but I think attitude is a better response.

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  5. Jane
    I love your concept of "changing the lens on the camera through which we view life ". You are so right, it is all in the attitude. Gotta have it!

    Great post! :)

    Jeanne xxx

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  6. Hi Jane,
    Seems that you have been enjoying yourself, good for you! And summer sun, bliss!
    Attitude is a great word and one I haven't thought about that way, so you've got me thinking... Enjoy your sunday or monday I believe it is in Tasmania,
    Hugs, Maureen

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  7. Jane, yes, love Skype :) And love your one-string, 10%/90% food for thought. Have a fantabulous week!! XOL

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  8. Thank you for some good thinking fodder jane. You are so right attitude is what's important - and how you react. Shall be pondering this some more today :)

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  9. Jane this echos one of my own bits I live by - being responsible is really about being able to choose your response to any given situation - I read this years back in my early career days when I read seven habits of highly effective people - the only one I took with me was this. It just rings true for me - I use it every day ... best le xox

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  10. I do agree! This is what I try to teach our boys (& myself!) when they a feeling sad about something someone else said or did. We are the only ones in control of how we feel & how we allow others to make us feel, it sure is all about our own attitude. Great post Jane x

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  11. A little bit of reflection like this is good occasionally. I also believe we teach others how to treat us, by our attitude.

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  12. Jane, My dear Dad spoke these quotations to me throughout my adolescence -- and do you know what, I still need to hear it! Thanks for the refresher!

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  13. So true Jane, so true, especially when it comes to our kids & their behaviour, sometimes its automatic to just react, especially if were tired!!
    Thank you for the reminder!!

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  14. I love that terminology "change the camera lense". I am so lazy at doing that on my actual camera and it can be difficult to do it in life too! I'm thinking we should look at life through a "fish-eye lense" - just to quirk things up a bit!!

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  15. Glad you had such a packed weekend, Jane. It all sounds terrific.

    I have never read this little segment, but I believe in it 100%. This is MY attitude - that it is ALL attitude. We can't control our world, but we do have complete control over how we feel about things. I remember reading the quote "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" (Elenore Roosevelt?) as a teen and it changed the way I saw myself and the world around me for good.

    It's much easier to be happy than many people think... x

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  16. What an inspiring post Jane. My soul food for today. Attitude is everything. I am learning this and also how important it is to live in 'the now' and not the past or future. Thank you. A-M xx

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  17. Great quote Jane. Sounds like you had a lovely weekend :)

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  18. This is a wonderful post Jane, I try to live my life everyday like this but sometimes it's hard, especially when I'm having a hard time emotionally. It's something I'm determined to work harder on. Thanks for the inspiration x

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  19. The perfect reading for Monday morning Jane....attitude is everything, that is for sure...xv

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  20. I l-o-v-e this post. Very inspirational and true....Well done...

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  21. Ah, ladies, so delighted it struck a chord with you all. I was feeling a bit of a cop-out by not writing a new post from scratch but maybe this wasn't too bad an option after all ☺. It's taken me 40 years to work this all out!

    Yes, Sarah, they're delicious - I'm about to pop some into a special dessert now.

    Ah, Jeanne, I thought the photographer in you would notice that!

    Hey, Le - good for you for working that out so much earlier than I have.

    You crack me up, Ange - what view would I have with a fish-eye lens?!

    Ah, Bron, you're also lucky to have sussed this out a while ago. Good for you, my friend.

    Oh, A-M, you're a sweetheart. You must have so much *advice* and *inspiration* being sent to you - I have no idea how you're dealing with all that as well as your cold showers and lack of power!

    Hey Alisa You're *so* not alone there. I think I need to print this out and place it somewhere conspicuous to remind myself.

    J x

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  22. oh Jane...i have held tight to this belief each and every long english winter...

    it can be a struggle to *find* that moment where you realise that you can change your attitude to a situation- esp when it's been below zero for days on end...& you just want to feel some warmth & sunlight on your face...

    but attitude is an important life tool...we empower our kids with it daily...they too will one day understand the power of attitude...
    & i must admit when i need reminding of it's presence & power it is the kids and their mind-set i turn too....

    great post.....
    melissa xxx

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  23. Hi Jane,
    What a thought provoking post. I am constantly talking to my eight year old about attitude as I believe that we can control it and it makes such a difference to how we live our lives.
    Nice to be back in blogland after a few weeks away and to catch up. x

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  24. I love a positive attitude and totally believes it changes everything! this is just what I needed to be reminded of today. Naomi xx

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  25. Completely agree with you Jane!! Especially the part about being more 'in control' of ourselves rather than being the victim. I guess to a certain extent its accountability too, when we start to take control and CHOOSE to have a certain attitude we have to be accountable for our own choices, which can be scary (and probably a reason its such a tricky thing to do) but also very liberating!

    Lovely to see you are making a real attempt at the changes/efforts you wanted to make for yourself this year x

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  26. Sounds like you've had a lovely few days catching up with friends. I think you are right in that attitude is SO important to one's life - this is something I tried so hard to drum into my students when I was teaching, particularly the year I had a rather 'difficult' class full of boys with 'attitude problems' :)

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  27. Hi beautiful,

    What a delightful post. Sounds like you had a fabulous weekend catching up with special treasures. Lovely. My attitude is innately the glass half empty variety; Stu's glass overflows with red cordial! What a pair!!! Love to you dear one. Emma. xx P.S. Thank you for your beautiful comment today, I'd love to catch up soon...

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  28. I love this quote and it is true to life. My mother in law has always said it is often how we deal with the situation that can make all the difference. You've given me perspective and made me more aware that I'm the one who can make the difference, thank you.

    It sounds like you had a wonderful time catching up with friends, that's so important. Enjoy your week lovely. xo

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  29. Welcome back. We missed you. Thank you for your wise words and your wisdom (and your bloglift sure is delightful too!) xx

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  30. Great post Jane - how you deal with things and 'manage' is probably 90% of the experience although sometimes it's hard to remember when you're in the middle of it. It's good to be able to step back and remember that you have a choice in how to deal with each "challenge"

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  31. Ah, Miss Melissa, those English winters seem to last forever. You've had a corker for this one.

    It's fab having you back in Blogland, Beth. I'm so relieved your place and family weren't affected by the floods.

    Naomi, I consider you the Positivity Queen for the manner in which you bring up 7 beautiful children so well.

    Hey Bec, I completely agree with you about making that choice. You're right - it's hard work but worth the effort.

    Good for you, Amanda, passing that onto your students. What a fabulous life lesson for them.

    Oh, Emma, you make me chuckle. You're the yin to Stu's yang ☺. Mr PB and I are a bit like that, too. Oh, my pleasure. Yes, we need to get organised.

    You're a sweetheart, Catherine. I'm glad it gave you some inspiration.

    Why, thanks, Kymmie, you funny girl. And I'm glad you like Katrina Chambers' magic - she's a legend.

    Lovely to see you here, Clare. I agree with you about the 'hard to remember' bit - I need to print this out and stick it somewhere conspicuous! J x

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  32. such important words...so very true! x

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Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, you gorgeous soul. You've just made my day! J x

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