Post by Wicked on Aug 7, 2008 15:20:25 GMT -5
Always a good reminder
John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a
good mood and always has something positive to say. When
someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply,
'If I were any better, I would be twins!' He was a
natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling
the employee how to look on the positive side of the
situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one
day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it! You
can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you
do it?'
He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself,
you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good
mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to
be in a good mood.' Each time something bad happens, I
can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from
it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to
me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining
or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose
the positive side of life.
'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.
'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about
choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is
a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose
how people affect your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom
line: It's your choice how you live your life.'
I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the
Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but
I often thought about him when I made a choice about life
instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in
serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a
communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks
of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with
rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked
him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better,
I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to
see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his
mind as the accident took place. 'The first thing that
went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be
born daughter,' he replied. Then, as I lay on the
ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose
to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'
'Weren't you scared? Did you lose
consciousness?' I asked
He continued, '..the paramedics were great.
They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they
wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the
faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In
their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I
needed to take action.'
'What did you do?' I asked.
'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions
at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to
anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses
stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep
breath and yelled, 'Gravity'.'
Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to
live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'
He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also
because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that
every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its
own.' Matthew 6:34. After all today is the tomorrow you
worried about yesterday.
John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a
good mood and always has something positive to say. When
someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply,
'If I were any better, I would be twins!' He was a
natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling
the employee how to look on the positive side of the
situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one
day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it! You
can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you
do it?'
He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself,
you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good
mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to
be in a good mood.' Each time something bad happens, I
can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from
it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to
me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining
or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose
the positive side of life.
'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.
'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about
choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is
a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose
how people affect your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom
line: It's your choice how you live your life.'
I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the
Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but
I often thought about him when I made a choice about life
instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in
serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a
communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks
of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with
rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked
him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better,
I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to
see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his
mind as the accident took place. 'The first thing that
went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be
born daughter,' he replied. Then, as I lay on the
ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose
to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'
'Weren't you scared? Did you lose
consciousness?' I asked
He continued, '..the paramedics were great.
They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they
wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the
faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In
their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I
needed to take action.'
'What did you do?' I asked.
'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions
at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to
anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses
stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep
breath and yelled, 'Gravity'.'
Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to
live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'
He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also
because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that
every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its
own.' Matthew 6:34. After all today is the tomorrow you
worried about yesterday.