Contagious

There have been times when I allow the stresses of life to get to me. Between work and clients, home and the family, and everything else, there is a lot going on. Each one of those areas has a great deal of stress that come with them – there are deadlines to hit at work, I am depended on at home as a father and husband. Maybe you know what some of those stresses are like? Unfortunately, there are times that I allow that stress to get the best of me and I’m not very much fun to be around. My family, friends, and co-workers all suffer.  Worse yet, my bad attitude can ruin my wife’s day too. There have been times when my wife, Carey, has come home from work in a great mood and I was feeling the exact opposite. She would tell me about how great her day was and I was still upset about my day. I would make a comment or maybe even snip at her because of my bad attitude, and then everyone in the house is in a bad mood! Your attitude is like a flu – it’s contagious!

Are there times where you have caught yourself doing this? How do we prevent our bad mood from spreading to those around us?

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” – Albert Einstein

Acknowledge and Admit It

Nothing is worse than when someone is in a bad mood and doesn’t admit it. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge. That’s why Alcoholics Anonymous meetings start with the famous, “Hi my name is Jack, and I’m an alcoholic.” We need to be able to stand there and say, “Hi my name is Beth, and I’m a grouch today.” When you’re aware of your attitude, then you can do something about it. Remember, your attitude is your choice. Bad circumstances happen to all of us, but your attitude about them is entirely up to you.

Carey and I have a dialog about our attitudes when one of us is having “one of those days”. Often we will say, “Honey, I apologize, I’m in a really bad mood right now. It’s not you, it’s just that this (fill in the blank) has been going on.” It opens up dialog between us and helps the other to not take things personally if we do slip up. But it also gives us a chance to help build each other up. If we didn’t admit it, then we wouldn’t be able to start going in the other direction.

Focus on the Positives

Negative people focus on the negatives. There are people that do this all the time and I find them very difficult to be around. Don’t you? But admittedly, I have days here and there that are like that for me. It’s usually when I’m run down and tired, but it does happen. If we’ve gotten to the point that we have admitted our negative attitudes, then we can consciously focus on the positives – what is good about all of this? What kinds of opportunities present themselves even though this situation looks dim? Keeping our focus on this will allow us to make the most of a bad situation. It may even start to turn our moods around.

Find Something that Lifts Your Spirits

It’s important to find something that lifts your spirits, and not something that numbs or avoids the issues. Some people turn to alcohol or other bad habits to “deal” with stresses, but those things only delay the bad feelings. Find something to do that lifts your spirits and helps to get you out of the funk that you’re in. For me, it’s often going for a long run or blasting 90s rock with the windows down on the highway. Other times, it means just simply opening up the Bible to an encouraging verse to remind me who I am and what my true purpose is. It will probably be different for you, but you know of at least one or two things that will do it. What is it for you?

Zig Ziglar said, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” So whether you are in a funk sometimes or all the time, it’s up to you to do something about it. We have to separate the circumstances that we find ourselves in from our attitudes. You do have the power to change it.