Friday, April 3, 2009

Favorite Poem

Many years ago, several aspects of my life weren't going very well, and a friend of mine shared this well-known poem with me. I have read it many times over the years, and I like to share it with my students every semester. Every time I read it again, it makes me feel good and empowered.


Attitude

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life. 
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. 
It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. 
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. 
It will make or break a company, a church, a home. 
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day. 
We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. 
We cannot change the inevitable. 
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes. 

--Charles Swindell

Be well,
Andrea