KEEPING A POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE OF LIFE AND ALL OF IT'S DIFFERENCES - A SUNDAY MESSAGE

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LET IT REALLY SINK IN - THEN CHOOSE.

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!

You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'

He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood

I choose to be in a good mood.'

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.

I reflected on what he said. Soon here after, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked

He continued, '..the paramedics were great.

They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.

'What did you do?' I asked.

'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'.

Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34.

After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

LIFE IS WHAT WE MAKE OF IT

[Nathan53]

Uffff that was a powerful story. There are loads of positive and anecdotal statements out there but this account really made me think a bit more deeply. Good message to start the day so thanks for posting

[Dolphin14]

That is a great message. My husband lives this way. After 2 cardiac arrests and near death waiting for a heart transplant nothing gets to him anymore.

As the person watching him go through this I have learned that we never know what burden people are carrying. So be kind to everyone you meet.

Life is short as most of you know. Try and look at it through the positive lens. You are here for a reason.

[Hidden in reply to Dolphin14]

Power message

[Hidden in reply to Dolphin14]

Well Dolphin14 - what other way is there when we have had a HA and bypass surgery it would just be bad manners to give up or worry one self to death. About burdens - My sister was downs syndrome and lived with my wife and I for nearly 10 years after mother could handle her no more - she came too. My sister used to love to go shopping and if she knew I was going anywhere near McDonald s she would want to come. I needed something from Salisbury so she insisted on coming too. Going round the shop, turning an isle she went out of sight. In the isle I was in was a young man who was also Downs Syndrome. He had not seen me and not for the first time, thought how cruel genetics and God and life and chance can be to make a perfectly physically normal human being have such a cruel genetic mishap.

At that time a middle aged female, tapped me on the shoulder and said I should feel disgusted with myself for looking at her Downs Syndrome son with such loathing and hatred - and went on to call me from a pig to a dog. People around shook their heads and tutted and glared at me. Son just stood behind mother - I just had no opportunity to speak or to defend myself.

At that very moment my sister came round the corner and viewed the scene and immediately saw the young man behind the irate female and shouted to me "Look Jimmy - someone just like me with a disability - we go out together" and came waddling up to my side. I just said to the lady and everyone else - please meet my sister we go shopping together.

Mother and son walked off and I believe left the supermarket.

The message for me was never to assume anything - ever and that we are never too old to learn something - other than that I felt very sorry for the female for believing everyone hated her son or could conceive that there was anyone else in the world with her burden. My sister is sadly no longer with us and I love and miss her dearly. She was a beam of light with not a care in the world other than meal times, her birthday and Christmas

[Dolphin14 in reply to Hidden]

Correct what other way is there? That's the point of the story right?

I also agree never assume anything. Again you never know what someone else is going through.

[Hidden in reply to Dolphin14]

On the nail!

[Rose54]

Totally agree

Having a positive attitude helps me get through all the crap life throws at me

[daveofpensby]

Oh how very very true life is what WE MAKE IT

stay positive and keep an open mind

[Sunnie2day]

Great post! I usually say humour is the best medicine but after reading your post, the discussion, I think optimism is really the best medicine.