Change your Attitude

Life begins at 40, they say. Well, if that’s the case, I just started mine 2 days ago. And I am having a fantastic life so far. Life has been fantastic since 1979. But it doesn’t mean that I never went through hardships or difficulties. There were days that seemed dark clouds have blocked out the sun but there are days that the sun shone brightly. Many are circumstances that we cannot change or control like the traffic, a flu coming down on you, a friend betraying you, losing your job or losing a big project, etc. These circumstances can make you want to throw the towel in and just give up on life.

But what I learned from my 40 years of existence is that we cannot control what happens to us – what we can control is our attitude. We cannot change a person but we can change how we react to that person or how often should we hang out with that person. We cannot force a client to choose us over our competitor but we can learn from it and try and win the next pitch. Traffic is something we cannot control but we can control how we will feel about it. We can mope around the house and wallow in self-pity when we get rejected or we can pray and bring our burdens to God.

We cannot change our situation but we can change how we deal with it – do we react violently and irrational or do we adapt a positive approach and think of solutions. This is one of the many principles I try to practice which I have read from books which I highly recommend – Roadmap to Success by John Maxwell and The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. I didn’t have the same attitude when I was younger. I made a lot of mistakes and I still do. But my goal is to become wiser as I get older and to learn from every opportunity available.

Life Is Short

One of my editor’s father passed away just four days back. It was a sudden loss and I was deeply saddened as I met him twice when I interviewed her daughter and when she got the job. He was a jolly person and exuded positivity with a smiling face.

It made me realize that life is truly short. We were not meant to last here forever and this world is just a transit journey.

What legacy would I leave if I die today? Would I have regrets? Did I serve my purpose?

I decided to take snaps of how my day looked like (with the help of MJ) – my walk to office, the school runs, silly moments with the kids – and unexpectedly I was able to take a few snaps of the birthday surprise Arish and the team prepared for me a day before my birthday. It was a decoy surprise for a bigger surprise they prepared for me on my actual birthdate. Maybe I have done something right to deserve such a loving family and team. There was pancit cooked by my parents, cake and flowers from hubby and home-cooked food from my team! There was also a video compilation of messages of family, friends who couldn’t attend the surprise and clients I have met along the way sent their messages across too. The video and the scrapbook they made (and outpouring messages on facebook) really touched my heart. I am so blessed!

Here is a peek at my daily life and the surprise I received:

Forgive my musings as I just want to share these two principles that has greatly changed my outlook lately. I hope you too would reflect on these not only when you turn forty but as soon as you can. And again, my praise and thanks goes up to my Creator for sustaining me these 40 years. And thank you to those who remembered and sent their warm greetings! Ciao for now! Until the next post…