Now you may wonder what kind of title is that and why I titled my blog post with a math question. And certainly, if you’re reading today’s blog post you know the answer is 1. It seems so simple doesn’t it? Well let’s explore that. Think back to when you were 3 or 5, do you think it would have been so simple then. Probably not. It may have required you to think or you may have had to ask someone to help you figure it out.
You see today I want you to think about the simple things in life. Those things that we often are too busy to recognize, don’t care to recognize, or think we already know all there is to know about them, and ask yourself have you really addressed the small things in your life with the right mindset and attitude.
Mindset and attitude are two key factors that affect our outlook in every area of our lives – What we eat for breakfast, if we’re going to make our health a priority by eating healthy and working out, if we get that new item, the person we date or marry, who we do business with or call our friends, if we should save and invest our money, and the list goes on.
Depending on your mindset and attitude depends on the way you decide to address those things and any other choices you make and though our choices about our day to day lives can seem so small and insignificant the fact is they all matter and they all lead us somewhere, to something, or someone. For the most part it’s up to us to decide how to handle our lives – Good or bad, planned, or unexpected, I know we can’t control everything that happens to us, but we can control our mindset and attitude about the situations we face.
And you’ve probably heard that statement a hundred times, if so, it’s just as true then as it is now. Just think of the route you took to work or the store, or maybe even your last social outing. Think about what you experienced along the way – Was it smooth sailing? Or did you hit a pot hole? Was it a trip full of red lights and trains? Or did you have any lights or traffic on the road at all? Maybe you had an accident or even seen one along the way? The point is the simple decision to go somewhere lead to a series of events often called the domino effect.
Likewise, if you don’t have your own transportation or if you chose to walk instead of drive, you too had a series of events that followed and impacted your day. Whether your outlook about your route was uplifting or somber again goes back to your viewpoint, which again is directly linked to your mindset and attitude. Imagine that two people took the exact same route but one walked and the other drove; the fact is that they would still experience different things.
While one could assume that the person on foot has the most disadvantages that actually depends on the mindset and attitude of the person and what is a part of their experience as he or she travels to their destination. In fact, I can tell you from experience, there’s times I’m walking places and I see all kinds of mindsets and attitudes displayed that remind me truly to not envy or want something someone else has because everything on the inside is not as favorable as it appears on the outside. Oh yes, you can see a person’s mindset.
And if you’re wondering how – let me tell you that while your thoughts are your own to think and have your mindset displays those thoughts to all who are in your presence. For example, one day I was at the public bus stop minding my own business when out of nowhere a man opens his car door as he is driving and throws his fast-food bag out onto the road and as I was editing this blog post a local city worker who was across the street throws two water bottles in my yard! But, get this, at the property where he was there were 2 trash cans available. (You’ll know I did go tell him about what he did, right…) You know what that speaks to in both situations – Mindset! Attitude! Another day, again, in my own world walking to the bus stop and what do I see as I’m walking – Young men yelling and loudly joking with each other. Then one decides to leave and his friend decides to jump on top of the hood as he’s leaving.
Yes, so there’s one friend driving his car with the other friend holding on to the hood. Again, mindset and attitude – and the two young men and the other friends who were watching were all laughing. Now if you ask me their behavior was alarming. Why? I have a different mindset and attitude. I was thinking now imagine if a police officer was driving down the road? Can he say ticket? Or even worst what if the young man driving collided with someone on the road?
Does the young man on the hood know what kind of shape he would be in? So exactly what was so funny about the situation to the young men I can’t say, but it said to me these young men don’t value their lives, have a lot of maturing to do and don’t know true friendship because friends care for your highest good and wouldn’t risk your life, especially doing something silly and pointless.
And don’t even get me started with people and their phones and spouses because the experience of some of the people I see anytime I’m walking somewhere amazes me and not in a positive way. From distracted drivers to people fussing and cursing, to others engaged in private matters they should handle at home. So, the next time you decide to do something that seems simple, or face a situation that appears to be simple, treat it as though it has value because it really does.
~No matter how simple something or someone seems, there’s always value in recognizing that just because it may not be or seem life-changing that it does still have the ability to change a life. ~ Coach Sam
~ Exalted Royalty ~ A C.E. SAM COMPANY
