Attitude Affects Altitude
I listen to a lot of speakers and I read a lot too. Attitude affects altitude. The attitude of a plane determines how fast it will gain or loose altitude. The pilot has control and monitors the instruments to determine his or her actions. A sharp incline may be uncomfortable, but a sharp decline might be dangerous. Turns and turbulence aside, there is a lot to learn, if you want to fly.
Attitude affects altitude
We can learn from this one key fact. Attitude adjustments are especially important to take-offs and landings.
For those of us with abuse or trauma in our past, our attitude can be a constant struggle. Who hasn’t had some kind of trauma? Child sexual abuse and rape are core violations, but just about everything is magnified during teen development. Not being invited to a coveted party by someone who is supposed to be your good friend can be devastating. Getting sick all over the carpet at a friend’s, could be the beginning of ruthless ridicule. Maybe, getting knocked around by bullies, was your experience. It could have been a narcissistic parent or grandparent.
Loosing someone you love to disease, an accident, or a murder is a very traumatic event. A debilitating illness, a job loss, a house fire, or burglary are all serious traumas.
Trauma affects the way we deal with things. It can keep us shy and unable to develop deep relationships. It can impact the way we perceive situations or circumstances around us, depending on the kind of trauma. We can internalize things, believing we deserved it for some fault or deficiency we have. Or we could believe that people are all out to get us. Or we might ignore the people and things around us. We might even reenact negative relationships or employ self defeating behaviors.
We can adjust
There is good news. We can train our brains. We can decide what to think and banish destructive thinking patterns.
When we take note of our instruments, we know what adjustments to make, just like a pilot. Paying attention to what is happening around us and how we are responding is key. There are many take-offs and landings in life. Let’s endeavor to make them smooth transitions that are good for us and our entire sphere of influence.
- Instead of “I hate my job” try “This isn’t the job I want to stay in, but I am grateful for the opportunity for now”
- Rather than “She did that to get back at me.” try “I’m not clear why this happened, but surely I can be better for it.”
- Instead of “I’m so sick” say “I may not be able to do some things now, but I will keep trying to get stronger.”
- Rather than”I can’t stand you.” try “I would appreciate it, if we could make some changes in the way we do things”
- Instead of “This sucks.” try “This circumstance is temporary and God can make good come out of it somehow.”
- Rather than”Everything bad happens to me.” say “I believe that I’ll have a better… day, afternoon, night, event…etc”
- Instead of “It’s all my fault.” try “I had a part in it, but I will learn from this and I will do better next time.”
- Rather than “No body likes me.” try “I am learning how to make new friends and see things differently.”
Activate change
If your relationships are not good, check your attitudes about the person(s) and decide to change your thinking. If it’s a problem at work, ask around if there is a better way to handle it. Perhaps, you suffer guilt or shame. Get some counseling and ask forgiveness when you need to. If it feels like the whole world is against you, speak out loud about the things you’d change in positive ways.
Instruments are not just feelings. They are community, cooperation, and inner peace. Take account of the areas of you life and how it’s going. Adjust as needed.
What attitudes do you need to change?