Building a Better Attitude

Generally speaking, I'm a pretty positive person. I get along well with most people and can usually think of something happy to say. That being said, it doesn't always come without effort. Being a single mom and a teacher of troubled children, I encounter my fair share of challenges. To counteract these challenges and to make sure that my attitude continues in the desired direction, I either read or listen to some sort of positive material daily. I have found this immensely helpful in not only maintaining my positive outlook, but finding it takes a lot less effort than it used to.

I'm currently reading Your Road Map For Success by John Maxwell. He has written a number of books that I have enjoyed and pulled useful nuggets of knowledge from. If you haven't read anything by him, I encourage you to choose a title that sounds like it might be interesting and see what you are able to glean from it. I have listed a few of my personal favorites below.

What caught my attention when I was reading tonight is a quote by Henry Ford. It says simply "My best friend brings out the best in me." To put it in context, it was in a passage about how the people you spend time with influence your attitude. If your best friend, or any of the people you spend the most time with, don't bring out the best in you, it may be time to venture out and meet some new people. We do tend to become more like the people we spend time with and we also tend to spend time with those people who are most like us. We can use this knowledge to willingly choose to spend time with positive people who are most like what we would want to be.

This quote made me think about a friend of mine who has found himself in a rather difficult situation. He is living with his girlfriend who has become increasingly abusive, both physically and verbally. It is difficult because my friend has a new baby with this woman and she has 3 children under 5 of her own. He has been supporting her and the kids so that she can be home with them and he knows that if he asks her to leave, he will also be forcing her to find a job. He knows that he does not deserve to be treated in such a way, but also feels obligated to help her and the children.

I have managed to get out of an abusive relationship that lasted far too long, so I can relate to his situation and understand his concerns. I remembered back to the attitude I had when living with someone who was constantly trying to drag me down and I thought about what Henry Ford said. It really is so important to surround yourself with positive, happy people if you want to have a positive, happy attitude. I contacted my friend and told him about the quote and my thoughts about it. I have no idea if sharing my thoughts with him will affect his situation or his thoughts, but I sincerely hope that he's able to surround himself with far more positive people than he is right now.