Make it a Great Day

"You are a silver-lining person. I just know it. Your 'Out of Office' says 'Make it a Great Day'." This is what a coworker recently told me.  

In the first part of my sixth grade year, I attended a school where the morning announcements ended, without fail, with the phrase "Make it a Great Day". The explained premise is that what makes a day "bad", "good", or "great" is how a person chooses to respond to the circumstances that arise.

This learning came at a time when I had very little control over the things that occurred in my life. The little bit of wisdom communicated was that I could take control over at least my attitude.

Over the course of time (ahem, years), I began to intentionally allow or create the thought processes around "What [actions/goal] will make a more desireable outcome?" and then proceeded to analyze the situation.  Over time and experience, I learned to look from multiple angles. 

Thinking about my Middle School/High School journey, this mindset surely saved me from more mental health issues than the severe anxiety that I kept buried for many years.

When I became a parent, I had to learn greater flexibility so the question changed to "What actions will allow forward movement; is the goal still the right direction; and is my way the only way or is there another viable path to achievement?" 

One item that took me years to grasp is that sometimes taking control of the situation means not controlling the process, if I want both control of my life and peace in living it.

However it is framed, the purpose of the question remains the same - take control of any little piece of life possible in order to avoid living in victim mentality.  I didn't know it in the sixth grade but I've since discovered that the Bible instructs us to take control of our thought processes to reduce/remove anxiety and experience peace.  Philippians 4:4-9.

I am forever grateful to the educators who took the time to teach us to choose our thought processes.  I'm really not so much a "silver-lining" person as a "fortitude or pivot in the face of difficulty" person. 

Make it a Great Day.