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A Better You

Four Steps toward a Better Attitude

By Erlene Smith

God created every person unique and blessed us with minds to make choices about our lives. One of the most important choices we can make is to live with a positive attitude, choosing to be happy and content and live in an environment of encouragement, acceptance and harmony. Here are four steps to make that goal a reality.

1. Forget past mistakes. If you spend your time looking back with regret, you rob yourself of precious time that could be spent looking forward with hope. Paul wrote, “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13,14).
2. Forgive. No one is perfect and we’ve all been hurt before. Even if someone who hurts you doesn’t ask for forgiveness, you can say as Jesus did, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Harboring hurt and hatred can destroy your soul and leave no room in your heart for God.
3. Look for the positive in other people. Jesus is the only perfect person who ever lived. Shakespeare wrote that everyone has a “tragic flaw.” Always finding fault in others can lead to a complaining attitude that causes us to demand more of others than we expect from ourselves.
4. Develop patience and choose peace. No one can do this for us. Paul admonishes us to think about things that are true, hones, just, pure, lovely and of good report (Philippians 4:8). With God’s help, you can develop an attitude that helps change your environment for the better.

ERLENE SMITH enjoys growing flowers and vegetables, and being involved in the lives of her husband and four grandchildren. She writes essays, literary criticism, and poetry.