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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Today's Thoughts

I got this via email and thought I'd share it's very sound advice:

Jim 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, Jim 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 hereafter, 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
> Jim. '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.
>
> You have two choices now:
> 1. Delete this
> 2. Forward it to the people you care about.
>

5 comments :

Karen said...

Pam, that's one of my favorite scriptures. I've read this before, but thanks for the reminder. I even linked you up on my blog. Thanks!

Dawn said...

I loved when you sent me this today. Sometimes you just really have to stop and think...and just be greatful! :-)

Kristi Smith said...

I usually think I am positive until I catch myself being negative. ;)

Ok, Where Was I? said...

What an amazing guy. This is so an outlook that I need to take to heart and work on b/c I'm the pessimistic type in just about every situation. (Linked from Hallie's).

nikkicrumpet said...

WONDERFUL story...now if I could just get my "glass half empty" hubby to fall for this attitude!