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Caree Brown L.C.S.W. Psychotherapy

Individual, Couples, & Family Therapy

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The Power of Attitude Approximates Magic

At Thanksgiving time, we are reminded to give thanks, count our blessings, and adopt an attitude of gratitude. What if we could “choose the attitude” with which we face every day of our lives?

As a little girl, I often heard my father, in his Russian accent, implore that “the power of attitude approximates magic”! My father went through many horrors in his life, and I have no doubt the strength of his attitude made all the difference in his survival and the passion he brought to his daily life.

An exceptional character development school back East, the Hyde School, distributes the following quote by Charles Swindoll to all of its incoming students:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact attitude has on life. It 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 that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the 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 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.”

My “attitude of choice” each day is to let go of the parts of my life that are beyond my control and put all my energy behind those parts that I can try to affect. I am fortunate that my courageous clients, my loving friends and family, and those wonderfully inspiring sayings all help recharge my own battery and help fuel the attitudes that help me walk my talk.

What attitude will you choose to confront your life’s issues tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that? Recognizing that you have a choice is half the battle! Look to those people in YOUR life who help validate your positive attitudes and look for ways to inspire yourself. Your resulting feelings of empowerment will create changes in your life that will indeed feel “magical”!

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