Family Study on Attitude

DAD:

"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."  (Albert Einstein)

"Nothing can stop man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal.  Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."  (Thomas Jefferson)

"Ability is what you're capable of doing.  Motivation determines what you do.  Attitude determines how well you do it."  (Raymond Chandler)

"It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which more than anything else will affect it's successful outcome."  (William James)

David and Dad both shared this quote:

"There is little difference in people.  But that little difference makes a big difference.  The little difference is attitude.  The big difference is whether it's positive or negative."  (W. Clement Stone)

MOM:

"Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:...So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest....And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?"  (Hebrews 3: 8, 11, 18)

Mom is the authority on the rest of these quotes.  She said they are just as good as anyone else's...she just sat down one day and wrote these all out!

"Miracles can be brought to pass with the right attitude." (Cindi Merrill)

"One's attitude is the scale to happiness."  (Cindi Merrill)

"Anger can pass without retaliation if one's attitude is right."  (Cindi Merrill)

"One's attitude can make or break one."  (Cindi Merrill)

"Each day can be beautiful with the right attitude."  (Cindi Merrill)

"Attitude is the gateway to peace."  (Cindi Merrill)

"Any situation in life can be handled with the right attitude."  (Cindi Merrill)

(My boys got a kick out her quoting herself and Tanner said the next thing you know she's going to expect to be published!  We love you grandma and are always grateful for the good laughs you give us!)

ELLIE:

I think the main thing I learned was that your attitude is a choice and there are some definite things you can do to help yourself have a positive attitude.  The world (i.e. life coaches and on-line self-help sources) have many ideas on how to have a positive mental attitude such as "limit your time in front of the tv"; "invest in yourself", "develop a "giver's gain" mentality--which is to give away what you seek without expectation or measuring.  When you seek success, help others be successful.  When you seek happiness, help others to find happiness first." (Those specific ideas are from Dieter Pauwels, a life and business coach).  Other ideas I saw was to "eat a healthy breakfast", "start out each day in a positive way", "find something positive each day about your spouse/children and compliment them on it" (these were from benefitstrust.org).  These are all great and I'm sure very helpful but I think the following three suggestions of ways to change your attitude will have greater results:  1.  Trust in the Lord  2.  Pray (see 1 Nephi 2:16) and 3. Read the scriptures (see Helaman 15:7).  Unfortunately, I didn't record the source...it might have been President Monson but I'm not 100% certain.

There were many wonderful quotes that I love and Elena and I had some of the same thought processes so I won't overlap with hers...

"I remind you...that regardless of your present age, you are building your life;...it can be full of joy and happiness, or it can be full of misery.  It all depends upon you and your attitudes, for your altitude, or the height you climb, is dependent upon your attitude or your response to situations."  (Spencer W. Kimball)

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." ( Proverbs 17:22)

"Remember, a good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude fair results, a poor attitude poor results.  We each shape our own life, and the shape of it is determined largely by our attitude."  (M. Russell Ballard)

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.  I don't believe in circumstances.  The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them."  (George Bernard Shaw)

"Stop seeking out storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight."  (Gordon B. Hinckley)

"The way you choose to see the world, creates the world you see."  (Dieter Pauwels)

"Brethren [and sisters], our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward."  (President Uchtdorf)

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE was stated by Elder Seth Powelson, a missionary serving from our ward, in his letter this week.  I thought it was his own thoughts but wondered since it seemed quite profound for a 20 year old.  I just did a little research and discovered it was actually stated by Denis Waitley (who appears to be a motivational speaker and author of self-help books and has quite a few good quotes on attitude).  It is that 
"Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success."  (LOVE THAT!  and thought of Caden's experience this week!)

ELENA:

“If you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right”

“The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings by changing the inner attitudes of their minds can change the outer aspects of their lives.” (William James)

“We can’t adjust the wind, but we can adjust the sails.  For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment may we choose a positive attitude.” (President Monson)

“We cannot change our past.  We cannot change the fact that people act 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.” Charles Swindoll

I have a book 21 Days Closer to Christ and one of the lines in that book has always stuck out to me.  The author recounts the importance of keeping journals and how her great grandmother had lived a life full of adversity and trials.  During one of these especially hard times she wrote, “ My Heavenly Father was surely mindful of me.  And when we know that, we live our lives free and apart without murmuring with life or the part we are called to play.”

Caden has been such a great example to me of having a positive outlook and “adjusting his sails” as he had a very disappointing week.  After his initial sadness, he has just picked himself up and he is happy for Blake.  In our sacrament meeting talk, the brother talked about some hard things that came his way these past couple years; lost his job, wife left him and the church, and his father passed away.  He said these things might not look like blessings but he saw the Lord’s hand in every instance and he found blessings in the adversity.  Caden noticed that his talk applied to his situation in a small way and it reaffirmed what Caden had already told me. 

My scripture example of attitude is in from Nephi and Laman.  After they had traveled in the wilderness for some time and endured hardships, Nephi says, “And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings." (1 Nephi 17:2-4)

Laman’s take on the same situation, “and we have wandered in the wilderness for these many years; and our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death; and wit would have been better that they had died before they came out of Jerusalem than to have suffered these afflictions.  Behold, these many years we have sufferend in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance; yea; and we might have been happy."  (1 Nephi 17:20-21)

We see the path the Nephi and his followers went and the path that Laman and his went.  Attitude has such a huge part in the direction our lives will take.  

NICHOLE:  

I think it all comes back to our thoughts.  Our attitude is determined by what kind of thoughts we have and this leads to what words we speak, our actions and ultimately what kind of character we have.

DEAN:  

Attitude is a frame of mind.  It's what you make it to be.  I did an experiment before where I made up my mind to have a positive attitude throughout the day.  I found that I had a better day and was happier than I had been.

DAVID:

I find that the Dissonance Reduction theory by Festinger applies. He stated that "When a belief and a behavior are at odds an individual will adjusts one or the other" In other words if our behaviors are not in line with our beliefs either our behavior has to change or our beliefs. I think you see many people change what they believe so they can justify their behaviors, rather than living what they truly believe.

Some of the happiest people I know are people who do not have much in the way of worldly things. It simply doesn't matter to them. I think attitude plays a key role in our happiness. Sometimes it is hard to have a good attitude when things are not going well but it is the one thing you can truly control. 

I think Little Orphan Annie said it best when she said "The sun will come out tomorrow"

RACHEL:

"If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on their face.  And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it.  A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly.  You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."  (Ronald Dahl)