Tip: A positive attitude won’t make you do anything!
As we start off on a new year it is important to have a check-up from the neck-up in order to avoid “stinkin’ thinkin’” and hardening of the attitudes!
Most of you know I was a big Zig Ziglar fan. I taught his “I Can” course before I ever got to meet him. Little did I know that one day I would get to work with him, spend time with him and travel with him! Hardly a day goes by that I do not think about Zig and something special he taught me. I learned a lot from that man. He was special to me and so many other people as well.
One criticism that I often heard when people found out that I was associated with Zig was this, “Are you one of those positive mental attitude people?!” Those words were spoken to me as though having a PMA (positive mental attitude) was a bad thing!
You must remember that Zig was basically an early proponent of the PMA movement. Back in the early 70’s (which was 50 years ago) the entire PMA concept was just beginning to become popular in business and professional circles.
Someone once said to me, “It is unrealistic to have a positive mental attitude about everything. What do you do when someone is sick or dying or you lose a job or things go wrong in your life with your marriage or children?”
Those are good questions. Zig thought about those questions a lot and he had a good answer! Here it is:
“Positive thinking won’t make you do anything…but it will help you do everything better!”
Think about the fact you are going into surgery. Would you rather hear your surgeon say, “I have done this surgery many times and we will do everything within our human ability to help you successfully get through this situation?” Or would you rather hear, “I don’t really know how this is going to turn out…good luck!”
Think about the fact you just lost your job. Would you rather hear, “Maybe it is time for a career change for you to take everything you have learned so far and start your life over in a new and better direction!” Or would you rather hear, “It probably won’t be long before you lose your house and car.”
Let’s say you are experiencing family issues. Would you rather hear, “Your family is so dysfunctional! It is probably time to trade them all in for a new dysfunctional group!” or would you rather hear, “Every family has its challenges. This probably would be a good time to talk to a family you admire or look up to and ask them for some help or guidance. Other families have had challenges and have worked through them. You will get through this okay!”
See what I mean? In each case a POSITIVE, encouraging comment did more good than a NEGATIVE, critical comment. “Positive thinking won’t make you do anything…but it will help you do everything better!”
The challenge comes with us making a choice to say things which will encourage other people rather than discourage them! And that, my friend, is up to each one of us! In the movie Bambi, after baby Bambi was first born, he was still learning how to stand up and walk. Thumper the rabbit made fun of Bambi learning to walk and said, “He doesn’t walk very good, does he?” Thumper’s mother gently asked him to remember what he had previously been taught. Thumper said, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all!” I have painfully learned that he was correct! We could all learn an important lesson from that rabbit. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all!”
As 2022 gets started we will all be thinking about our goals, dreams, and desires for this upcoming year. I can think of nothing better than to make it my purpose to only say things that are good, pure, and uplifting to other people. You and I will never regret becoming the most positive and encouraging person other people meet this year! That’s a fact!
Tip: A positive attitude won’t make you do anything!
Have a great week! God bless you!
Dr. Robert A. Rohm
