The choice of the attitude is ours to own. We need to take full responsibility – whether you’re a pauper or a king. And while it can be changed from time to time or situation to situation, it is our personal choice in making that decision.
…the moment we are born excited family members press their noses against the nursery window in the hospital and being playing the game, “Who does he look like?” After much discussion, it is decided that their red-faced, wrinkly, toothless baby looks like “Uncle Harry”.
The labelling of the little child increases as her personality develops. That is a normal human reaction. We all do it. It becomes hurtful, however, when we start placing limitations on our child because he is a “C” student, a “fair” runner, or a “plain” child. Unless parents exercise care, their children will grow up selling themselves short because of the “box” parents have put them in, the expectations parents have placed upon them.
In the Netflix movie, Sierra Burgess is a Loser, the protagonists in the film portray various attitudes – from being mean to being ideal. It’s a simple storyline that brings home the message of costly mistakes people make when constructing an attitude. People change – whether it is due to environmental factors or peer pressure – we all have crosses to bear and personal crossroads in life.
What are a person’s capabilities? No one knows. Therefore, no one should be consciously instilling life-limiting thoughts onto others. Many years ago, Johnny Weissmuller, also known as Tarzan to movie viewers, was called the greatest swimmer the world has ever known. Doctors and coaches around the world said, “Nobody will ever break Johnny Weissmuller’s records.” He held more than fifty of them! Do you know who is breaking Tarzan’s records today? Thirteen-year-old girls! The 1936 Olympic records were the qualifying records for the 1972 Olympics.
REMEMBER: OTHERS CAN STOP YOU TEMPORARILY, BUT YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO IT PERMANENTLY.
An elephant can easily pick up a one-ton load with his trunk. But have you ever visited a circus and watched these huge creatures standing quietly tied to a small wooden stake?
While still young and weak, an elephant is tied by a heavy chain to an immovable iron stake. He discovers that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot break the chain or move the stake. Then, no matter how large and strong the elephant becomes, he continues to believe he cannot move as long as he sees the stake in the ground beside him.
Many intelligent adults behave like the circus elephant. They are restrained in thought, action, and results. They never move further than the boundaries of self-imposed limitation.
Edgar A. Guest wrote:
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That maybe it couldn’t, but he would be one.
Who wouldn’t say no till he tried…
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
Relative Joy 