Hectic schedules fill the lives of almost every person today. Our lives can often put us into a state of mental anxiety.  Financial pressures, health issues or relationship problems are a part of everyone’s life from time to time. These things will vary in magnitude and intensity from person to person but one thing is the same and that is all of us will face at least one of these hurdles some time in our lives. The thing that does vary widely is the way that each person deals with them.
   In these times of high stress what then can be done to relieve the pressure that these issues can cause. One thing is for sure though, and that is this, if we don’t find a way to effectively deal with these types of problems they can have devastating consequences. It is in times such as these that people often turn to things such as over eating, elicited relationships, drugs or alcohol or all the above. These things offer only temporary relief at their best but, each of these type things make as much sense as hitting yourself in the head with a hammer to get rid of a head ache! In other words, they simply make things in your life much worse. There is one thing though that will help. This thing is available all the time to everyone.
 Wallace Wattles famous quote from his book the Science of getting Rich sums it up.
The whole process of mental adjustment and atonement can be summed up in one word: Gratitude!
 The apostle Paul said it this way in first Thessalonians 5:18 “in all things give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
This act of being grateful for what you have is a definite life changer it will shift your thoughts and feelings from what your life lacks to the abundance that you already have. When your thoughts shift to that of the blessings that you already have in your life it is forming a foundation for future abundance.
     Gratitude, turns what you have into enough, it will bring order in to replace chaos. It gives us understanding about our past, offers peace for today and opens doors of vision for tomorrow!
     When your problems are weighing heavy on your shoulders more than likely the last thing that you will want to do is to be thankful; but do it anyway because you are now aware of the power that gratitude has. It is in fact the mental adjustment that has the power to save your marriage or any troubled relationship no matter who or what it is with.
All things are relational.  Your thoughts are relative to your actions. Your feelings are relative to the health of your body.  Your relationships with money either attracts it to you or pushes it away from you. How you relate with people will either draw them to you or cause them to draw back from you.  Animals are especially keen to this law of nature. They are drawn to those that are peaceful and they instinctively move away from confusion and chaotic thoughts.
 
Since practicing gratitude is a peaceful lifter of your attitude the grateful mind is filled with high desire. The best thing that anyone can do is to develop the habit of being grateful.  You can train yourself to be thankful first by making a list every day of the things in your life that you are grateful for. Then practice it every chance  you get.  Repetition is the first law of learning so repeat your thoughtful attitude and behavior over and over and over again.  When you are genuinely appreciative for the people that you meet on a regular basis your life will become supported with good and it will bring more of the same.  Like gravity, being in a continuous mental state of gratitude is a law of nature. It holds the power to instantly and dramatically change your attitude for the better and the results that you get in life are directly tied to your attitude. Your attitude is your responsibility.  
 
Interested in improving your attitude?  Visit hopegiversranch.org and check out the MYARD program.
 
Hope is Alive!
Hope Givers Working Ranch,
Dennis Cappel 

Who hasn’t heard this cliché; Attitude is Everything!?
How is this true? Why then does the word attitude without a qualifying word in front of it, such as great, brilliant or wonderful etc, usually have a negative condition? I think that when most people hear the word attitude that automatically triggers the thought of words such as bad, poor or some other word like them.
 
Merrian Webster defines the word attitude like this; 1.the arrangement of the parts of the body; posture 2. a mental position with regard to fact or state; feeling or emotion toward a fact or state and 3. An organismic state of readiness to respond in a characteristic way to a stimulus  (as an object, concept, or situation).
 
Studying the definition of a word can explain and give you a much deeper understanding to the Why’s and How’s.
 
Who hasn’t seen a person with a poor posture and what does it trigger in your mind? In contrast what does a person with a straight back and an elegant fluid moving posture.   These upright people are usually smiling and pleasant to be around and are very drawing or attractive we say.  Now, with the further study we have done on the word attitude we now have a better understanding of exactly what is at the core of these postures.
 
We also often know how another person will respond to certain things even before they respond because of their habitual attitude.  Unless they respond completely different than we expected them to, to which we respond, wow, that was completely out of character for that person.
 
So then since the attitude is so important to how others perceive us, and we now know that ours is predictable by those who know us, do you think that this predictable behavior could have anything to do with the results that we are getting in our, relationships, finances or our health?  The answer to this question when it comes with the awareness that we have just laid out is an obvious… Yes, Yes, Yes our life results are directly tied to our attitude!
 
The attitude is everything and it cuts like a two edged sword for good or bad depending on our habitual responses.  The good news is that your attitude can be gained to be good and here are some tips to turn your attitude to the uplifting positive one that everyone admires!  
 
First you need to know where your  are at on this journey. Remember this is your personal journey, no one else’s.  
 

1. Elevate your attitude towards yourself; what is your self talk?
2. Elevate your attitude towards your environment; what is your typical response, positive or negative?
3. What is your attitude towards others; are you encouraging or attempting to fix them?
4. Change; are you willing to be different? Do you want to be an influencer of good?

 
       Tips of  Change  for a better brilliant attitude:

• Make a decision to Think – Act – Talk – Walk with a good attitude.
• Walk with upright posture of worth.
• Gratitude; start your day with a thankful list and add the “why” to it.
• If  you don’t have anything “Good”  to say, don’t say anything at all.
• Stay in the “Now” that is where life happens! Past is gone, let it go!
• 3 S’s – See – Speak – Surround yourself with what you desire to be.
• Expect success! Successful people talk about the good they desire, not others.
• Be – Do – Have; first become what you desire so you can then “do” and “have.”
• Repetition is Key! Train yourself daily to choose good thoughts, words and actions. This will eventual become a habit! Develop your “Mental Muscle.”
• Speak of only good health. The body is listening.
• Don’t broadcast your personal problems that only feeds them to increase.

 
Remember a good healthy attitude will send you to the top!
 
Hope Givers Working Ranch,
Dennis Cappel