Control Your Attitude Or Someone Will Do It For You

Mad
I wore a yellow dress to my mother’s funeral.
It caused the wags of the relatives to whisper in disapproval but my mother had instructed me to wear it before she died. She knew I’d be sad and she wanted to remind me to be untroubled and lead a cheerful life like she had taught me.
So I stood before the congregation in that dress to deliver the eulogy and share stories of our happy family times together.
Why do I tell you this sad memory? It’s to remind me and suggest to you to choose the perspective you want to have as you maneuver through life.
All of life, on a daily basis, can tear you down — people, problems, politics.  But as a thinking adult you choose the attitude and mindset that you want to have despite what’s going on around you.
Sometimes it requires putting on a “yellow dress” for the outside show as you work to manage the inside mindset.
I never wore that dress again but every time I see it hanging in my closet it reminds me to choose the positive perspective of life that is within my power.  That choice is one thing that no one can take away from you — unless you let them.
—–
Benton is co-author of The Leadership Mind Switch (McGraw-Hill, 2017)
Picture of Debra Benton

Debra Benton

D.A. (Debra) Benton has been helping great individuals and organizations get even better for over 20 years. Just as exceptional athletes rely on excellent coaching to hone their skills, Debra's clients rely on her advice to advance their careers. She focuses on what is truly important to convert what you and your organization want to be from a vision into a reality. TopCEOCoaches.com ranks her in the World's Top 10 CEO Coaches noting she is the top female. And as conference keynote speaker she is routinely rated in the top 2%. Her client list reads like a “Who's Who” of executives in companies ranging from Microsoft, McDonald's, Kraft, American Express, Merrill Lynch, United Airlines, and PricewaterhouseCoopers to the Washington Beltway and U.S.Border Patrol. *She is the author of ten award-winning and best-selling business books including The Virtual Executive and CEO Material. She has written for the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Fast Company. She has been featured in USA Today, Fortune, The New York Times, and Time; she has appeared on Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, and CBS with Diane Sawyer. To learn more Debra advising leaders, coaching, facilitating a workshop, or speaking: www.debrabenton.com

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