Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Toss the 'Tude Tuesday


Raise your hands, girls, anyone sportin’ a ‘tude today (as Patsy Clairmont coined in her book – be sure to search her videos on You Tube – she’s amazing)?????  My little ‘tude monster has been trying desperately to take control in the last several weeks.  Personally, I think she may be in cahoots with my hormones because I’ve had more emotional ups and downs than a merry-go-round horse on steroids!  And I have yet to explain the phenomenon of how all the little “annoy-me” gremlins know exactly when to come out from under their rocks to scratch their nails on the blackboard of my spirit to make me C-R-A-Z-Y!!! 

I don’t like me with a ‘tude.  I’ve written about it here before (click HERE and HERE), and I hate to admit it but it’s still a fresh topic.  I get a wicked mean case of the uglies when I’m in a ‘tude mood.  I get snarky, snippy and sarcastic.  Instead of a smiling and calm countenance gently graced by a quiet and gentle spirit (which is what I’m going for most days), my lip curls up, my eyes roll and my nose sniffs up like I’ve just gone past a mountain of manure.  In fact, that’s a fairly good descriptor of what my ‘tude is like – it STINKS!

I want to be one of those women that bless people when I’m with them – the kind that, when they leave, your world is just a little brighter and you feel warmer and happier.  I want to leave that kind of legacy… where people say, “Gee she always had a good/kind word for everyone, a happy attitude”… sort of the personification of a comforting hug.  Kinda like a combo of Mother Teresa meets Erma Bombeck meets your favorite grandmother/aunt – that kind of good.  Lately I’ve been more of a sour version of Joan Rivers meets Bridezilla meets Church Lady with a fierce case of PMS and a side order of perimenopause!  Like I said, girls, uuuhhh-gaaaa-lee ugly.

Sunday night I sat myself down and quietly took an inventory of things – of how I’d been acting vs. how I want to act.  How my walk didn’t equal my talk.  I remembered that it was my choice, always and always my own choice, on how I responded to any given situation going on in my life.  I could react and wind up with a major mood 'tude, or I could choose my mood ‘tude.  I’m tired of nursing my ‘tude – it weighs heavily, gives me frown wrinkles and works my last nerve!  I’m not trying to be Penny Perfect here, mind you… it’s not that I can’t get mad/sad/angry, etc.  But it’s what I do with those emotions that matters in the long run.  Do I let them control me, or do I choose to control how I handle things? 

I love Chuck Swindoll’s quote on attitude:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."

So I’m flickin’ those nasty little gremlins off my soul shoulders, kicking my mood ‘tude in her moody booty, and deciding to add altitude to my attitude and let my spirit soar high and free above the things that have been getting me down.  I’m taking a deep breath, praying for a strong and serene spirit coupled with a loving demeanor and heart, and singin’ along with Patty LaBelle’s great song “NEW ATTITUDE”!  I feel more beautiful from the inside out already.

Are you with me?  Exercise your mood elevator today, ladies, and give yourself a ‘tude lift!  There you go – looking GOOD!

Blessings,

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