"Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?" - Dennis and Wendy Mannering

What are you doing to change yourself? Your community? The world?

If you're feeling discouraged, feeling like you can't make a difference because you're just one person, I want you to continue reading.

Attitude is everything. Someone once said that our lives are 10% what happens to us and 90% how we choose to react to what happens to us. Winston Churchill said, "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." Attitude is a choice. Just like choosing what we're going to wear, eat, say - we choose to be optimistic or pessimistic. Some people substitute the world "realist" for "pessimist", but I want to clarify that those two words, while somewhat related, are very different. The definition of a realist is as follows: Realist: (n) a person who tends to view or represent things as they really are. This is the definition of a pessimist: (n) a person who habitually sees or anticipates the worst, a person disposed to be gloomy. So a realist sees things realistically, that makes sense. A pessimist anticipates the worst, that's a little different. Because, realistically, the "worst" doesn't always happen. A pessimist looks for the worst. And as followers of Christ we are not called to be pessimists or realists; we're called to be optimists, to cling to hope at all times, and to never lose faith. We are to always expect God's best!

I don't want anyone reading this to feel condemned. I know some people are naturally bent towards being more down to earth and realistic, but, let me repeat, that is totally different than dwelling on the negative and seeing the glass as half empty. It's easy to lose hope and feel discouraged when we let all the negativity in the world consume our thoughts. That brings me to this point, we have to focus. When it comes to making a difference we have to choose one thing we want to do first. After you get that one thing going, you can expand that idea or possibly start a new one. But instead of hearing all the statistics about - how many starving children there are, how many homeless people there are, how many animals and plants are dying because of pollution, how many people are unemployed - and letting them weigh you down, you have to figure out what you're passionate about and focus on that.

Take Blake Mycoskie for example. He is one man who had one idea. Since 2006 he has given away over 1 million pairs of shoes to children in need! Do you really think he knew he was going to be that successful when he started selling shoes made out of canvas and burlap? I highly doubt it. Do you have an idea that could potentially change the world? Well, you'll never know until you try! Believe in yourself and the creativity that God has put inside of you. He puts dreams and desires in your heart for a reason, because knows that He will equip you to accomplish them if you rely completely on Him! Now if that isn't enough to inspire you, then...I don't know what else to tell ya.

Dare to dream! Dare to make a difference! Dare to try! Dare to fail! You know how the old adage goes - If you shoot for the moon, you'll land among the stars. Never lose hope, and determine in your heart to be an eternal optimist.

What attitude are you going to choose?