"I'm a lucky girl"

Christopher Reeves, one of the most famous unlucky people in recent history, is known for saying "I'm a lucky guy".  This idea is difficult to understand at first, because even as a young child I experienced the news of his accident and knew that for the rest of his life, he had a huge burden to bear.  But his attitude was positive and uplifting, and he turned this terrible occurrence into a an inspiration for millions across the world.  Not because he found a way for his paralysis to not suck, but because he changed his point of view. He DECIDED to change the "unlucky" to the "lucky" and then committed to sharing his positivity.

There is so much to be said for the decisions we make as individuals from day to day, but maybe the most important is the decision of our attitude. This single choice can dictate the nature of every other choice we make, but more importantly, how we process everything that happens to us.  It influences our relationships, our reactions to life's mishaps, and our happiness overall.  

In our lives, there are a million sources for help on creating and keeping your positive attitude, from articles to literature to workshops, which are all helpful, but the most important step is deciding you want to be a positive person.  Then steps essentially write themselves.  Like most any life change, it will take time to implement an entirely new way to look at the world, but given the right dedication and motivation, it will come with time and practice.  (Can you "practice" being "positive"?)

Once you decide to be happy, you can focus on identifying what it is that helps you stay happy.  Then we have to continuously fill our days with those things that you've found to be positive inspirations, and when that is not possible, turn your cards into a hand that is as close to ideal as possible.  As much as you can, turn your "lemons into lemonade" to make it that much easier to be happy about what you have.  Your attitude is effected by your decision to be happy just as much as what you choose to surround yourself with and how you choose to perceive it all. 

Of course, science has found certain chemical imbalances and serious disabilities that may prevent some from really just "deciding" to be happy, but for the rest of us, if Christopher Reeves can count himself in the "lucky ones", why shouldn't I? In the words of a former classmate, Will Zarifi," why not you?"

“Our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as being able to remake ourselves.” ~Gandhi

Don't take my word on it:

http://willpowerarizona.com/why-not-you-by-william-zarifi/

http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.ddJFKRNoFiG/b.4431483/