Attitude is everything; a phrase so common many take it for granted. Having a positive attitude is an effortless task, yet the rarest accomplished. How can something so obvious be so neglected? The attitude taken over anything determines everything: success, failure, simplicity, difficulty, enjoyment, displeasure, swiftness, and extensiveness. Winston Churchill said “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference,” and this I believe.
The Eagles sang “we all live our life in chains, and we never even know we have the key,” in “Already Gone,” but what does this mean? The “chains” represent the hardships of life that restrain us – bind us against our will. The metaphorical “key” symbolizes our “attitude.” An optimistic intellectual use his or her attitude to loosen or remove the chains of life, and live once and for all free. It is absurd to believe could, or will ever, be free of misfortune, but the true measure of a man is not how much he has been through, but what he does with the problem ahead of him. An ignorant man is one who always sees his misfortune, because he does not realize William James accuracy in stating “a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” My Aunt was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but does she allow the chains of life to suffocate her first? No, she spends her remaining time on this planet in the company of family and friends. She will not ascend to the gates of Heaven dissatisfied, but rather the opposite, happy and content because she is optimistic about her remaining time. She believes the time may be short, but not to short to spend with those she loves.
Living life with an optimistic attitude is like the physical truth, if you do nothing, then nothing is done. If you do not look for the good in a day, then the day will bring nothing. Life can be the greatest disappoint, or the greatest enjoyment, the key to either is attitude. Perspective is everything, and we are nothing without a positive outlook. Life can be great if you look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time.