It's a CRAZY road...our Attitude can change that.

The difficulty in life's challenges is the ability to keep ahead of the bumps that sometimes throw you off course.
My favorite moments are when the road is freshly paved, the sun shining through a break of clouds yet blocked by the sunglasses resting on the bridge of my nose. The radio blares a favorite tune. Life is great. The trees, fences, and electrical posts lining the side of the pavement fly-by in a whir as life moves forward at an incredible yet wonderful speed.

This is the highway of freedom and joy, where the stop signs have been thrown out, stop-lights are prohibited and the speed bumps that seem to slow down the ride have all been smoothed out for quick stream-lining.
There have been several moments of clarity and beauty in this process of life where the road feels to stretch out so far that the upcoming turns, bridges, construction or the crossing of deer are impossible to see. Life is blessed and beautiful. Life is calm.
At some point I know, just as we all do, that the road is never completely straight nor is it free of construction. Signs pop up alerting us of 'falling rocks' or a shift in the pavement. Those are moments where we grip the steering wheel extra tight and mutter, "Hold on to your britches, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."
Most of the time, in fact I would bet about 99%, warnings do not come... or maybe we're not on the lookout and have missed the giant sign that reads 'Watch out! Sharp turn ahead'.
You've got going so fast that the car screeches and nearly catapults you through the window as the 90-degree turn whips you against the seat-belt. Luckily, you've got some protection to keep you safe. No matter the case, you breathe deeply in as your life almost came to an end.

What is all this talking about? Well, you are much too smart not to catch the drift.

Oftentimes I find that life isn't quite as planned, and if you must know, I honestly have quit planning in most ways. There are too many variables to set up your life and hope it goes down that path of perfection. There are too many people in this world that we can't avoid the butterfly affect. What we can plan on is our attitude.

I wake up some days feeling entirely overwhelmed and blessed with how amazing my life is...and some days anxiety greets me like an ice ball to the face. The best solution I have found for the latter is being positive.

Think of all the times you've been cut-off by jerks and how that person deserves this and that, you may find road-rage suddenly controlling you. By the time you arrive at work, you are so worked-up by this driver (who is now well off with their day), that you can't seem to forget how big of a jerk they were. You tell all your co-workers, then your spouse, and then you stew about it while driving the next day thinking how angry you'll be if someone cuts you off again.

Wow.

Or...same scenario. You think to yourself, 'wow, they are not paying attention. What a jerk, they could have caused a major wreck BUT
I'm not going to let them ruin my day. Today is going to be great. I have that meeting with my boss for a possible promotion, we are celebrating mom's birthday tonight. Oh well someone cut me off. Today will be great!'

The two will result in a drastically different day. The Power of Attitude. Our individual road in life is different and unique and some of us have it pretty stinkin' hard. What I love is that we get to choose how we respond and what our attitude will be in every situation. That is part of mastering ourselves and our natural man desire to get stuck in the negative. It takes a lot to always be positive, especially on extremely trying days, but the more you practice the better you'll get at it and the more you will realize that there really is no other way to be.
Now, I'll get off my soap box...

Rochelle
 Now listen to 'The Strangest Secret' by Earl Nightingale