We don't inherit a particular life; we only inherit circumstances. Our life is nothing but a series of decisions & actions that we take in certain circumstances. So, whatever the situations, the brush of our life is in our hand & we paint the picture of our life. So, what makes us take those decisions? That is attitude or your thought pattern in a particular situation.
We may react differently in different situations but by & large, our attitude remains the same. It is because attitude is the result of a long & complex process that takes place during our life time. This doesn't mean that attitude can't be changed. It can be changed as easily as a brush can be changed. But you need to realize whether you are holding the right brush in your hand or not & that realization, unfortunately, doesn't come easily.
Attitude is not given, it is always chosen. Attitude is a matter of choice; it cannot be forced upon anyone. If this be the case, why many people choose negative attitude over positive & show up negative results? The reason is that they don't understand attitude. They think it to be some imaginary thing & can't link it to the results that they produce in their lives. If we can understand attitude, we can make our life much simpler.
When we hear a bad news we can take either of the two responses; the first & the most common one is that we have negative thoughts swarming into our mind. The first question that we ask from ourselves usually is,"What will happen now?" The fact of the matter is what was to happen has already happened. You can't do much about it. You could take action before the result & could have got different result. You chose that action based on how you felt at that moment & the feeling was largely based on your thought pattern at that moment. Asking this question now will no way change the feeling that you had before taking the action that produced the result. It will only change your current feeling which in turn will decide your current behavior & will give you next result. So, one wrong question can change your attitude. Instead, questions like, "Why did I take the action that produced this result?" or "What can I learn from the result that I got?", will surely trigger positive vibes & will lead you to some positive action & you are bound to get a positive result. This is the second, & more constructive of the two responses that we can take. So, attitude is nothing but a combination of your thoughts, feelings & actions. If you can control these three, you can control your attitude.
So, in this game what role do circumstances play? Virtually, no role. Your present circumstances are the result of your past actions which are the result of your past feelings & thoughts. Your future circumstances will be the result of your current thoughts, feelings & actions. Choose your current attitude to choose your current & future life. Your past & current circumstances play no role in deciding your future. They only reveal your present state of mind & it is up to you to give them the right direction.
"Circumstances don't make the man; they only reveal him to himself." - Epictetus
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