More Choices

I end every blog with the words "choose wisely", because I am learning (not there yet!) that by making mindful choices, things change. Very early this morning (too early, in fact), I had an opportunity to practice what I preach.

I was awakened by the sound of birds - loud birds - a little after 6 AM. Now I like birds, don't get me wrong, but I'm not particularly fond of them at 6 AM. My very first conscious thought this morning was "darn birds," and this was accompanied by a lot of mental grumbling (I kept it from being verbal because I didn't want to wake up my husband). I didn't get to bed until after midnight last night and wasn't happy that a bunch of stupid birds was now waking me up early. I stayed in bed for a few minutes, allowing a host of negativity to wash over me - not a good way to start a day or a week!

Then the phrase "choose wisely" came to mind and I realized that bright and very early on this Monday morning, I had a choice to make. I needed to choose the attitude I was going to have for the day, and I knew I didn't want to drag the one I had throughout the rest of the day. At that point, I shifted my focus. One Scripture verse came immediately to mind, "This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." The "will" in this verse reminded me that my attitude is a conscious choice. At that point, I rolled over and began to pray, and my prayer was one of praise and thanksgiving. Guess what? My attitude changed, and changed almost immediately :-)

I'm sharing this today because it's a Monday and I'm guessing that at least one person reading this was less than excited to get up (perhaps earlier than 6 AM!) and head to work. Monday is probably the least-favorite day of the week for many people, as it means the start of a new work week filled with stress. For me, Mondays were often the day I'd start a new diet, and my resolve to lose weight would quickly collide with the stress of a new work week.

What I am learning is that while I cannot always choose my circumstances, I can choose my attitude. Things may happen that are out of my control, but I can always choose how I'm going to respond. Even when my initial response is negative, I can turn it around if I choose to do so.

What kind of attitude are you going to have today? Hopefully you love what you do and were upbeat the minute your feet hit the floor, and hopefully you are overjoyed at the opportunity to spend another day on plan ;-), but what if you aren't? There are lots of choices to be made today, including our attitude. Choose wisely :-)