Making the wrong choices – now that would be tragic! Nevertheless, as dumb as it sounds, that’s exactly what we do. So often God shows us the consequences of making a bad choice or walking through life with a bad attitude , and yet we choose that attitude anyway. Then when relationships fail, when we lose friends or forfeit a great opportunity, it really should be no surprise.

Deposit into your heart the necessary ingredients to develop a life-changing attitude . Make that choice right now. It may come slowly at first, but don’t give up. The new attitude may feel awkward at first, but practice until it becomes natural.

You are only one attitude away from a great life, a successful marriage and a promising future!

Your attitude is the set of your sail. You must choose the direction you want your life to travel and set your heart accordingly. There will be storms, but it will be your attitude toward those storms that drives you in one direction or another, not the storm itself.

Each of us will be surrounded with problems at times, and we will often find ourselves steeped in hot water. But remember that the event will soon pass. The event is temporary, but the effects of how we respond in the midst of the event will last much longer. A poor attitude in the midst of the storm can cause the storm to rage inside for a lifetime.

You will see problems everywhere, but don’t allow your eyes to remain focused on them. Look for answers and that’s what you will see. Develop a new perspective – a fresh view of your problems. Solve them; don’t dwell on them. You’ll be tempted to remain in a slough of despair. It feels good, sometimes to be pitied, and many of us look for reasons to remain in our unhappy circumstances. But don’t do it.

Failure is note when you get knocked down. Failure is when you refuse to get back up. Don’t hang around the swamps of despair. They will only skew your attitude and impede your resilience. Learn to bounce back quickly.

So when you go through hell, don’t stop to take pictures.

Though we may have excelled in our approach to life, we must continue to develop every day. We need to practice having an excellent attitude in each and every endeavor, for it will always be true that we can improve the way we see problems, people and life.

Even if it’s only 1 percent each day, improve something about yourself. Sharpen something! If you can improve just 1 percent a day, that means over one year you will have improved more than 300 percent for your life. Just 1 percent a day!

Look for something to improve about yourself. It may be the way you stand or comb your hair or something to improve your hygiene. It could be the way you shake your hands or the way you look at people in the eye when you talk with them. It may be something about your posture or your speech. Instead of responding requests by muttering, “Yeah, okay,” say, “Sure I would love to!” When someone asks for your help, instead of replying, “I guess so,” say, “I would be more than honored to help!”

Raise the bar!

Author's Bio: 

Christine Lazaro and Samantha Johnson are both editors for BestSummaries.com . BestSummaries provides very useful summaries of top self-help, motivational and inspirational books.