Knocked Down But Not Out!

According to Les Brown, “When life knocks you down, make sure you land on your back, because if you can look up, you can get up”. That is what I call a good attitude towards life. Those who are depressed are in a state of hopelessness. Hope is the reason one wakes up in the morning and tries again despite the failures of yesterday. When there is no hope, people put an end to their lives because they don’t foresee a better future. Rather than having a “No more” attitude, why not try a “One more time” attitude? Some attitudes close us up to possibilities of progress while some others open us up to them.

Here are a few suggestions of how you can build a positive attitude:

1. Find solutions in problems: Zig Ziglar once stated that though he was never into counselling, he had spoken to persons in psychology, psychiatry and ministry who counseled people, and they all agreed that not everyone who came for counselling needed a solution. According to him, “A lot of people are just looking for who to tell about it. And if you spoil the show by solving the problem, then they can’t tell everyone about it. They want the attention that goes with the problem”. This, perhaps, explains why a lot of people look for, hold onto and cherish problems. They need to be able to compare notes with other people. They may even begin to feel odd if other people are complaining and they don’t have anything to complain about. Rather than ‘enjoying” problems and using our situations to justify how bad our nation has become, let us look out for solutions and become examples of how one can beat all odds to succeed.
2. Understand that you are special: You have something special to give that no one else can. Everyone was created with a gift to give to humanity; the discovery of that gift is what is called purpose. If you discover your purpose, you will realise that you are relevant, important and valuable. Let that give you a reason to look forward to the goodness in life. Someone may ask, “what if my hope is disappointed?” I will ask, “What if your hope is achieved?” Your glorious destiny is worth the try. Simply stop trying to become like someone else and develop your unique potentials.
3. Think good and speak good: my favourite book says that from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. What you see outside you is a reflection of what is inside you. If you give up on the inside, you will lack the physical energy to go on. According to Norman Vincent Peale, “Change your thoughts and you change your world”. Robert H. Schuller went further to say, “It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts”. It is quite easy to think bad thoughts; I challenge you to think good thoughts!