CHOICES: John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, If I were any better, I would be twins! He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, I dont get it! You cant be a positive person all of the time How do you do it? He replied, Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. Yeah, right, its not that easy, I protested. Yes, it is, he said. Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: Its your choice how you live your life. I reflected on what he said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, If I were any better, Id be twins.. Wanna see my scars? I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter, he replied. Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live. Werent you scared? Did you lose consciousness? I asked He continued, ...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.. In their eyes, I read hes a dead man. I knew I needed to take action. What did you do? I asked. Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me, said John. She asked if I was allergic to anything Yes, I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, Gravity Over their laughter, I told them, I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead. He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything . Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34. After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. What choice will you make?
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 19:27:43 +0000