As the title
of my book suggests, attitude is woven throughout all chapters of my book. It
is the golden thread that draws all the themes into a unifying whole.
I am a
passionate believer that our attitude to any aspects of life will significantly
determine the outcome of every experiences we may encounter, whether of a
positive or negative nature. This assertion is also supported by the research I
encountered in support of the claims I make in my book. In essence, the
meanings we assign to our experiences in life is largely influenced by our
attitude, which in turn will determine how we react to our experiences.
Attitude
suggests that we always have a choice in any given set of circumstances.
Whatever we encounter, we have the choice of how we will respond. Irrespective
of our choice, it will significantly contribute to creating a self-fulfilling
prophecy.
An intimate
companion of attitude is the language we use and is a powerful indicator of our
attitude to life in general. Alas, the language the media employs when
referring to older people, is often of a negative nature and subconsciously we
internalise these messages. As one example, note the number of times the
anti-ageing phrase is associated with beauty products as featured in the beauty
industry.
Research
suggests that our attitude directly impacts both our physical as well as mental
wellbeing. A positive attitude is inexplicably linked to gratitude and once
again research attributes gratitude to higher levels of positive emotions that
result in optimism and lower levels of depression.
Being
grateful, means we are also more resourceful and open to new and different ways
with which to approach challenges or problems we will no doubt encounter from
time to time. I certainly don’t advocate denial, but we always have the choice
to reappraise negative situations or emotions in a positive light. It may
simply be to allow the gift to or lesson of the situation to reveal itself in
the fullness of time.
It is worth
remembering the saying that like attracts like and will therefore create a
snowball effect. What is important for us to remember is that we have the power
to set that process in motion by making a choice. So, choose wisely as it will
go a long way in determining the reality you will experience.
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