Let God help you keep a positive attitude!
| “Instead of spending all or most of your time thinking about how bad things are, how bad things have been and how things are still really not what you would want them to be, why not allow God to help you think about how good things will be as He continues to work in your life? It can be incredibly hard to be positive when everything around you may be negative. It can also be very hard to be positive when you’ve grown tired of old stale circumstances that seem to choke life, energy and passion out of you on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. But no matter how hard it may be to have a positive attitude when your circumstances are down, it is not impossible with God’s help. Having a positive attitude is vitally important if you want to have a successful life. It’s very easy to have a positive attitude when things go right, and all is well, but what about when things go wrong?When circumstances deal you a blow, and when it seems like no matter what you do and no matter how hard you try, it just does not work, you may find it very hard to remain positive when everything around you is negative.
In life, we all have a tendency to let our attitudes take the dive along with our state of affairs when life deals us minor and major setbacks, and usually this is because oftentimes it’s very hard to believe that God has allowed what has happened in our lives to happen, so as a natural response, doubt, disbelief, depression and a negative attitude usually rears their ugly heads.If you haven’t noticed already, your plans are often interrupted and changed by God without your permission or consent. This interruption in your life that God allows is often different sets of very bad circumstances that make you angry, make you fearful and make you doubt God’s love, doubt God’s care and doubt God’s plans and affection for you and your life. Can you relate to this? Has God ever allowed unpleasant and very bad interruptions to happen in your life without your permission or consent? If this hasn’t happened to you yet, just wait, for if you live long enough, it will. Since God may have allowed some terrible circumstances to occur in your life, you may find it very hard to be positive when there is so much negative in your life that is bringing you down, if you can relate to this, the below suggestions can help you alter the demons of depression that have come to claim your life, your thought process, and your faith;
1. The next time circumstances turn against you, take some time to just step back from the problem and think.This will enable you to deal with the issue at hand rationally, instead of emotionally. It will allow you to put your state of mind back into its proper place. It gives you the opportunity to choose your attitude as you face the circumstances at hand. Remember that you don’t have to do something right now. Go grab a cup of coffee, read a book or pray, choose to relax. By doing this you function with you being in control and not the circumstances. 2. Keep your eye on the goal. A second step in keeping your attitude in the proper place is to make sure you keep the important things important. One of the biggest problems with trouble is that it gets your focus off of where it should be. When we experience difficult circumstances and people ask us how it is going, we tell them, “we are just keeping our eyes on the goal.” It has always been fascinating to us that when race car drivers get into trouble, they keep their eyes straight ahead and do not move them away. There is just too much chance of wrecking that way. Instead, their eyes are on the goal, and this keeps them out of trouble. If you find yourself getting down about circumstances, sit down and write out what the goal is. Give some thought to how you can achieve that goal or others you may have.
3. Focus on solutions, not problems. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, the old saying goes. Negative circumstances don’t sit idly by. They scream for your attention. When you face difficult circumstances, you tend to dwell on them. You talk about them, fret about them, and give them way too much attention. Instead of talking about problems, talk about solutions. Instead of spending your time thinking about how bad things are, think about how good they will be! Don’t have family or staff meetings about the problems and how big they are. Have meetings on the solutions and how you will implement them. Don’t let yourself or other team members complain. Encourage them to solve, with an emphasis on the positive results that will come from doing so. Then take some time to put these solutions down on paper, so you can monitor your progress. Pray and invite God to help you find solutions to your problems that will work. 4.Get some positive input. The mind tends to build on itself, so when you begin to go in one direction, i.e. worry, it can be a slippery slope. One thing you must do is get your thoughts back on track with positive ideas. When circumstances have got you against the emotional wall, get with a good friend who can encourage you. Listen to tapes, anointed music, or read God’s Holy Word, the Bible. Whatever external influence you can get to put your attitude back on the positive side of the tracks – do it! It must be one of your first goals to start plugging good things into your minds to fuel your attitude. Pray and ask God to help you keep a good and positive attitude despite any drag down situations that may be looming over you. 5. Tell yourself the good. One of the greatest internal powers we all have is the power to control our thoughts. Spend time dwelling on the good things about your life or job instead of the problems. Think about positive things, things you enjoy and give you a sense of happiness and peace. There is an old childhood song that says, “Count your blessings, and name them one by one.” That is great advice! Let your positive attitude develop from within as well as from without. This makes all the difference! Practice thanking God daily for what is good and right, rather than what is bad and wrong.
6. Have faith in God Jesus said in Mark 10:27, “Humanly speaking things may look impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” This Bible verse reaffirms that no matter how bad your circumstances or situations are, God’s power to save, heal and deliver is stronger. God’s power to heal, save and deliver is better;He will reach into tough, hard and bad situations and “fix” what has not been able to be “fixed. When people walk out because things look impossible, God often walks in, takes control, and changes things as only He can. No circumstance or situation is hopeless when you have faith, when you trust in and when you follow our living God, for what the devil has meant to destroy you, God will intervene at just the right time, to turn it around and make it work out for your good and His glory. So don’t keep letting impossible situations drag you down, just keep turning to and praying to God, He will walk in eventually to do what needs to be done!
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