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Are you "A negative" or "A positive?" By DR. DAVID L.
CHANCEY A man named Christian joined the Army and was issued his dog-tag. It noted his blood type, Rh factor and name. It read, "A negative Christian." Do you know any of those folks? Some folks always look at the dark side and see a dark cloud in every silver lining. They see difficulties in every opportunity. Many people are like the little boy who came home from school and told his dad, "Dad, I think I failed my math test." The dad said, "Come on, Son, think positive." The son replied, "OK, Dad, I'm positive I failed my math test." At least he was confident. One of the greatest qualities possessed by successful people is a positive spirit. There have always been two ways to look at life, but successful people discipline themselves to focus on the positive. The negative is always going to be there. There will always be challenges and obstacles to overcome in any worthwhile endeavor. However, we see what we train our eyes to see. Focusing on the positive takes discipline. We don't deny nor ignore the negatives. They're part of the landscape that determines how we plan. But neither do we dwell there. I heard about grandparents who had the grandchildren over the weekend and decided to take an afternoon drive together. As they explored a new road, they noticed a sign that said, "natural park." So they entered the natural park and expected to see things like nature trails, wild flowers and lots of birds. But as they drove through, they were met by a group of "naturalists" riding bikes without a stitch of clothing on. The kids looked at those people and their eyes nearly popped out of their heads. Guess what they said: "Look, they're not wearing their safety helmets." Why did they say that? It had been drilled into them that when you get on your bike, you have to wear your helmet. We see what we train ourselves to see. Why don't we discipline ourselves to see the positive? Successful people also have a positive attitude. Attitude makes all the difference in the world. Someone defined attitude as an "inward feeling expressed by behavior." Our attitude is the primary force that determines whether we succeed or fail. It reveals what's really in our hearts and where our focus lies. I heard about some kids who played a trick on dear ol' dad. Dad was asleep in his favorite recliner. One of the kids took some limburger cheese on his moustache. Soon he woke up sniffing: "Boy, this room stinks." And he went into the kitchen and declared, "man, the kitchen stinks." He went outside to get fresh air, but to his surprise, there was no relief there, either." Then he gave up and said, "The whole world stinks!" If we have a poor attitude, the whole world stinks. Successful people keep pressing forward. They never quit. There are times when looking back is proper and positive. We learn great lessons from past experiences and then move on. There are other events and experiences that are best forgotten and we really do need to move on. We feel like Linus in the Peanuts comic strip who said, "Maybe we should think only about today." Charlie Brown said, "No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping yesterday will get better." We can't change what happened yesterday, but we can do our best to make today great. Finally, successful people look for ways to keep improving their lives. David Glass, CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, was once asked whom he admired most, and he said Wal-Mart found Sam Walton. "There's never been a day in his life since I've known him that he didn't improve in some way." Never stop growing. What do you need to improve in your life this year? What specific steps do you need to take right now to improve your life? (Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Georgia. The church family meets at 352 McDonough Road and invites you to join them for Bible study at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 10:55 a.m. every Sunday).
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