Its All About Attitude

/ Penny L Howe

Attitude! That word is a big one for me. Each of us has our own personal belief system and values that we find important, but I think in life it still comes down to how/what we do with what life hands us. It really is all about attitude, how we respond to life, others and our personal challenges. I learned very early on the extreme importance of attitude.The following is an anonymous quote, but one of my absolute favorites.

Attitude

“The longer I live the more I realize 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 failures, than success, 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 – an organization – 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 all have and that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with us all …”

 ◦ Author Unknown

I taught this lesson to both my daughter Christina, and my son Nick, as early and as well as I could. My son had this quote copied, framed and put on the desk in his office. He is very successful with people in the service industry of which he plays an active role…

Today is his birthday! Happy Birthday my son! This is how I mostly think of him, The photo taken his senior year in high school. An adult now, he is a family man, with a beautiful wife, gorgeous daughter and talented (gamer) son! Happy Birthday my Son. You do me proud every single day, I love you!

ps – Emma, Jack, and Jordan say Happy Birthday too! (They adore their Uncle Nick)

67 thoughts on “Its All About Attitude”

    • Thank you. Blogging will give you as many connections as you would wish. Go searching for them, I google for bloggers that are “like minded” on google and check out other Gravatars located on the comments of those who visit the people I follow. It works pretty well that way! Thank you for visiting here today – Have a very good day ahead of you! 🙂

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  7. Happy birthday to your son and happy mothering day to you. We can forget about some of their other birthdays but never that first one because that was our day too. 🙂

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    • Thank you most kindly for the birthday wishes, Even though he came early (a few unanticipated problems ‘eclampsia’and then the little guy got stuck – wide shoulders, yes a future football player – high school.) But oh what a special day that was for me, you are so correct!!!!! Thanks for reminding me of some wonderful memories, much appreciated! 🙂

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  8. Great quote, great blog, your love shines through!
    It is also the birthday of AnElephant’s brother Ron.
    We made a trunk call!
    And thank you Penny for your words on the Bee blog.
    May try another couple, see if they fly! (groan)
    Hugs

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    • Thanks Brian, I have but few loves (things that inspire me) in this life, my family and my need to make a difference. I often had wished for that special someone, it just never came my way, but I am so happy for what I have been blessed with, I never forget that for a day. Happy Birthday to Ron from me! I’ll ‘bee’ waiting for the Bee blog, Mine is a bigger groaner than yours! (giggle) 🙂

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  9. Another fabulous post, Penny. My mother always said to me “It’s not what happens to you in life, it’s the way you cope with it that counts.” And this all leads back to attitude 🙂

    What a handsome son you have! I hope he had a lovely birthday!

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    • Thank you Dianne. Mothers always seem to know stuff don’t they! Mine was a gold mine of quotes. For everything that happened there seemed to be a quote to go with it 🙂 She was usually right too! Thank you for the birthday wishes. And I agree with you he is handsome, thanks again. Hope today was good to you, Penny

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  10. Having a good attitude definitely takes hard work and practice–daily! I have seen people who crumble under one bad situation and so more ‘bad luck’ befalls them. I believe that if you can keep up the good attitude even through the tough times, easier times are right around the corner. That’s not to say that there aren’t days where you simply can’t or won’t keep up the good attitude (we’re human, after all). But I think if we allow ourselves a few minutes of ranting, then return to the good attitude, we’re back on track a lot faster.

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    • I totally agree with you. I think you stated that very well. Speaking for myself I do have those days and everyone treads very softly then. Luckily they don’t last long. 🙂

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  11. hahaha, I love the little detail about your grandson being a gamer 🙂
    Its one thing to express your thoughts on certain advice, but the advice becomes a completely different animal when you have the results to back it up, your kids are the results 🙂 You have a beautiful family and I wish your son a happy birtday, too!

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    • Thank you Len, I have been very blessed in that area. The inside of each of my children is what really shines to me! Thank you for your praise and the birthday wishes for Nick, I’ll pass them along. As for being a fantastic mom, I’m thinking most women are when they love and care for their children as they can. Thanks again for your most generous words of praise. I really do appreciate you. 🙂

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  15. I believe that when we work on living in the present, acknowledging what is happening at that moment and that it is not permanent, it can set the stage for approaching life with a positive attitude. Whenever I am around someone whose cup appears to be half-empty, I try to remind myself that I don’t know what is happening in their life and send out a wish for them to be able to move beyond these feelings. Truly inspiring post Penny and great words to live by. Happy Birthday to your son Nick.

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  18. Sometimes in casual conversation with others or maybe in a group, I have heard this,”Oh he or she has such a bad attitude.” And then the conversation changes and nothing more is said.

    And I have probably said the same thing.

    Maybe it really isn’t a ‘bad attitude’. Just a different attitude. Some people hope to change others’ beliefs etc to match their own. Perhaps it is wiser to try to understand their attitude. And at the same time examine our own attitudes.

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    • Thanks Boomie, I appreciate you very much! I have to say in an aside comment here, still don’t have that poem you wrote out of my mind! Totally out of context here but you did such a good job with the written word! 🙂

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    • Thank you. Growing up in my home the plaque on the wall was “Do onto others…” in a prominent place in the dining room. So to me attitude was just an extension of what I was taught early on! Thank you for the birthday wishes, they are much appreciated! 🙂

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  22. Happy birthday to your son, Penny. It seems you have brought your kids up very well and with a lot of respect for their own and other people’s feelings. That says tons about your attitude.

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    • Thanks kat, I try as I can, lord only knows how many missteps I’ve made through the passage of time, They (my children) did grow up well and I continue to be extremely proud of them and their own accomplishments. And my attitude, well it pretty much is what you see and read here. I honestly don’t know any other way to be. Love unconditionally, care about others and make each day count, as you can! Oh and say thank you for having such loving and caring bloggers (insert “like Mondrak” here) to interact with online in the blogging community! 🙂

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    • Thank you LouAnn, it truly is one of my very favorites and have tried my best to live my life that way. Thanks also for the birthday wishes, very much appreciated. 🙂

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  24. I couldn’t agree more Penny… something I and my family try to adopt all the time. They way you look at life and the way you react to things that happen is all about attitude and you can choose the attitude you adopt. Great post. Happy birthday to your son 🙂

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  25. I couldn’t agree more. Quitting my job, letting go of anger, resentment and every other negative emotion was the first step to improving my health. Changing my attitute & how I perceive my chronic illness was the the best ‘treatment’ I’ve ever come across.

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    • Good to hear you say that. It is an ultimate truth. Years ago I started saying to every woman I met when we’d depart from one another – take care of you! My attitude of discovery was that if I didn’t take care of myself I certainly wasn’t going to be much good for me or anyone else. It worked well. I’ve conquered some amazing things with that attitude. So pleased that you have also! Way to go! 🙂

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