Chapter 7. A Kick in the Attitude Principle #5: Your Attitude Is Either in the Way, On the Way, or Creating a Way
Life is about managing the things that we tolerate. What are you no longer willing to tolerate? What is currently bad enough for your life that you are willing to let it go?
Once I was on an airplane flight, with an overtired mind, and I kept dwelling on a negative thought, watching it spiral and grow in my imagination. Eventually, I started turning red with anger while sitting in my seat. I would have kept on that path of thinking for another hour—and my day would have been ruined—had it not been for a big old cloud that shook our plane.
When that plane hit turbulence, was I still thinking about my negative thought? Not at all. My pattern was broken, and my thinking interrupted. I had a new thought: wondering when the plane would stop jumping around!
When the turbulence was over, I had a choice: I could either go back to thinking the bad thoughts that didn't benefit me in any way; or I could let the whole issue go and think about something that lifted my spirits. I had enough awareness of my thoughts that I could see the choice clearly, so I let my troubles go and built my day on a more productive outlook. All thanks to a nice jolt!
Whether you are dwelling on a little problem or zapped by the shock of turbulence, the lesson is the same: Get over it and get on with it! That's my philosophy when it comes to the obstacles in life that get in the way of achieving greatness ...
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