Few people believe that their attitude is their own choice. For most people, their attitude depends upon people and circumstances. If people are nice to them, then they have a good attitude. If circumstances are favorable, they are in a good mood.

On the other hand, if someone treats them unfairly, then they have a bad attitude. If the circumstances are not favorable, they are in a bad mood.

Most people fail to realize that their attitude and their mood are really their own choice. Let me give you a silly example.

Awhile back, someone sent the following to me in an email.

A little old lady went to the mirror one morning and noticed that she had only three hairs on her head. As she looked into the mirror, she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." That's exactly what she did. And, she had a great day.

The next morning, at the mirror once again, the little old lady noticed that she only had two hairs on her head. Looking herself right in the eye, she said, "Today, I think I'll part my hair down the middle." That's exactly what she did. And, she had a great day.

The next day, as the little old lady looked into the mirror, there was only one hair on her head. She looked at that one lonely hair and said, "Today I think I'll wear my hair in a pony tail." That's exactly what she did. And she had a great day.

The following morning the little old lady looked into the mirror and there wasn't a single hair on her head. Her eyes lit up, and she said, "Yeah! I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Your attitude is your choice.

Now, if you're a lady, please don't let this illustration shake you up too much, okay? I am quite aware that in our culture bald men are considered more attractive than bald women. In fact, I thought about that when I first read this story in the email. I wondered why they used the example of a woman in the story.

But the more I thought about it, the more I saw how much more powerful and dramatic this example is with a woman! The whole point of the illustration is all about attitude.

We can blame circumstances for our attitude. We can blame the actions of others for our attitude. We can even blame the dog. But the truth is, we decide, we choose and we determine our attitude at any given moment.

The attitude that you have right now, at this very moment, is the one you have chosen to carry around. It is determined by your thoughts.

In this silly illustration about the woman, she could have had one lousy day after another watching her each hair disappear just as easily. She could have spent her days depressed. She could have spent her time being angry.

Instead, she looked for something to be positive about, even in the middle of a lousy situation. She chose to deal with her situation in a positive way, and as a result she had a great day. Even though this is a fictional story, the point is well made.

Think about it. When was the last time you had a lousy attitude and a great day? Do you think that a connection exists between attitude, thoughts and physical realities of the day you are having? Of course it does!

I like to end my blogs with, "Choose to have a great day." There will certainly be days with circumstances that we are not able to change. There may be people we deal with that act like jerks. But, regardless of what we are faced with each day, we can choose to let it affect our attitude, or we can choose to not let it affect our attitude.

Attitude is a choice. Choose to have a great day!