The wisdom of the prudent is
to give thought to their ways.
—Proverbs 14:8
By now I should have learned these two things: 1) I can’t control the attitude of another person; 2) I am the only person who can control mine.
Sarah Trimmer believes her happiness is her responsibility. She has a whiteboard in her room, displaying five prompts. Every night she writes in the answers to those cues.
Here they are:
- Today I am grateful for . . .
- Today I helped someone by . . .
- Today this was something that made me happy . . .
- Today I learned . . .
- Tomorrow I will . . .
Our mind, when left undisciplined, navigates toward the negative, defaulting to what’s wrong.
Emulating Sarah’s disciplined exercise could reverse that. It’s worth a try.
You are the only one in charge of your attitude.