Power of Your Attitude

Stan Toler

Description

No Matter What Happens, Attitude Is a Choice As much as you try, sometimes you just can't change your circumstancesand never the actions of others. But you do have the power to choose how your attitude affects your outlook on your day and those you influence in your life. Join bestselling author Stan Toler as he shares the what, why, and how behind the transformation you desire. With this book, you'll...release the thoughts and habits that keep you from experiencing joy on a daily basislearn the seven choices you can make to get out of a rut and into greater successimplement a plan to improve your outlook in three vital areas and conquer negativity After having lost his father in an industrial accident as a boy, Toler knows about coping with unexpected tragedies and harsh realities. He will gently guide you through the internal processes that can positively change any lifeincluding yours.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Assertiveness

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 30 août 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780736968263
• Langue: English

Extrait

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
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THE POWER OF YOUR ATTITUDE
Copyright 2016 Stan Toler
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-6825-6 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-6826-3 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Toler, Stan, author.
Title: The power of your attitude / Stan Toler.
Description: Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016004091 (print) | LCCN 2016022725 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736968256 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780736968263 ()
Subjects: LCSH: Attitude (Psychology)-Religious aspects-Christianity.
Classification: LCC BV4509.5 .T65 2016 (print) | LCC BV4509.5 (ebook) | DDC 248.4-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016004091
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Dedication
To my granddaughter,
Clara Jane Toler
Contents
Dedication
Why You Need This Book
The Gift of a Great Attitude
Part 1: The Power of Your Attitude
1. The Power of Thoughts: Your Thoughts Shape Your Identity
2. The Power of Words: Your Words Become Your Reality
3. The Power of Actions: Your Actions Determine Your Character
4. The Power of Habits: Your Habits Predict Your Future
5. The Power of Choice: Your Choices Change Your Life
Part 2: Seven Choices with the Power to Transform Your Life
6. Believe It Will All Work Out: Choose Hope
7. Don t Take Yourself Too Seriously: Choose Humility
8. Count Your Blessings: Choose Gratitude
9. Give More Than You Take: Choose Generosity
10. Be Kind to Everyone You Meet: Choose Compassion
11. Celebrate Life: Choose Joy
12. Keep Going No Matter What: Choose Perseverance
Part 3: Becoming a Positive Person
13. Rebooting Your Brain for a Positive Outlook: Change Your Future by Renewing Your Mind
14. Leveraging the Mind-Body Connection: Improve Your Attitude by Improving Your Daily Habits
15. Becoming a Positive Influence: Help Yourself by Helping Others
You Can!
Notes
Other Harvest House Books by Stan Toler
About the Publisher
Why You Need This Book
M any people are trapped in negative thinking that produces fear, failure, and unhappiness. Though they may long for greater achievements, better relationships, and happier lives, they re mired in a spiral of negative thinking, complaining, and self-fulfilling prophecies. Sadly, many give up even wishing for change and settle for a life that s boring and unfulfilling.
If that describes you, I have great news: It doesn t have to be that way! The secret to a happier and more successful life is not to change your circumstances (you often can t) or to control what others do (you never can). It s to change the one thing over which you have absolute authority- your attitude .
It s been proven time and time again that people with a positive outlook are happier and more successful, and have greater career satisfaction and a better self-image. The reason for this is simple: Your attitude has incredible power to shape your life. Negative thinkers see negativity, think negative thoughts, and develop negative habits. Not surprisingly, they feel worse about themselves, enjoy less success, and experience less joy in life. Positive thinkers see possibilities, choose to pursue them, and more easily bounce back from failure. They have more energy and hope, and encounter more opportunities. Both types of thinkers live in the same world, but those who have a positive attitude leverage a power that enables them to move through life with greater joy and satisfaction.
Through the pages of this book, I ll share with you the lessons I ve learned about positive psychology and the power of a positive attitude to transform your life for the better. Many of these lessons came from the most positive thinker I ve ever known, my dad. Though he passed away when I was just 11 years old, he modeled for me the seven critical choices that have shaped my entire life. I want to share those insights with you. Through this book you will
recognize the incredible, often unnoticed power of attitude in every area of life.
be inspired to believe that change is possible, regardless of the circumstances.
be confident of your ability to implement change through simple, practical strategies.
leverage the power of positive mental choices.
gain courage for dealing with disappointment and failure.
become a happier, more successful person.
If you re thinking that s too good to be true, let me assure you it s not. This isn t magic or wishful thinking. I ll share with you the proven principles that have been tested not only by my own experience but by a host of scientific research. These chapters will
provide real-life examples of the power of attitude.
create a sense of urgency in you for personal change.
demonstrate the positive effect of choosing joy, gratitude, kindness, hope, and other virtues.
teach practical strategies for implementing personal life.
I m eager to share these life lessons with you. I believe you have the power to make positive life choices, choose a positive outlook, and transform your life from stuck to spectacular . You can do this!
The Gift of a Great Attitude
I was born in Welch, West Virginia, a small city in the heart of Appalachia. Welch is the seat of McDowell County, the most productive coal mining area in the state. When I was a child, McDowell County mines-such as Coalwood, Flat Top-Pocahontas, and Williams-produced millions of tons of coal each year, setting production records for the entire nation. If you ve seen the movie October Sky , which is set just down the road in Coalwood, you ve had a glimpse of the place where I came from.
Our family lived in a tiny three-bedroom home nestled against Baileysville Mountain. Not surprisingly, my father, William Aaron Toler, was a coal miner. He went to work underground every day, and some of my earliest memories are of Dad coming home, his face streaked with sweat and his clothing caked with coal dust. During the winter months, he would leave the house long before sunrise and work until after dark. He would go for days, sometimes weeks at a time, without seeing daylight. Dad worked hard every day to provide a living for Mom, my two little brothers, Mark and Terry, and me.
Though McDowell County was rich in resources, it wasn t a prosperous place-quite the opposite, in fact. Welch was the poorest city in America at that time. After John F. Kennedy visited the area while running for president in 1960, he noted, McDowell County mines more coal than it ever has in its history, probably more coal than any county in the United States, and yet there are more people getting surplus food packages in McDowell County than any county in the United States. 1 To say that our family was poor, as we understand poverty today, wouldn t adequately convey the conditions in which we lived. Our tiny home had limited electricity and no running water. We carried water from the well every day, and our bathroom was a one-seat privy located out back. Our heat came from a single pot-bellied stove fed with coal from the same mine where Dad worked. For electronic entertainment, my brothers and I would watch the black-and-white TV in the furniture section of the Wyoming Company Store during our weekly visits to town.
Mining has always been a dangerous business, and it was especially so in those days. In the 1940s, more than 1100 miners lost their lives on the job every single year. 2 My dad had his back broken three times in the mines before he was 30 years old, and he was beginning to suffer from the dreaded black lung disease. I can still remember him sitting in our small kitchen during the evening, coughing up black coal dust into a snow-white handkerchief while my brothers and I played around his feet.
Yet Dad was both a hard worker and a forward thinker, and he realized that things wouldn t improve for our family as long as he kept working in the mines. The coal industry had peaked after World War II, and McDowell County was losing jobs and people every year. Physically, the work was demanding and dangerous, and Dad saw that it was time to get out. So our family moved to Ohio in search of a better life. We settled in the city of Columbus with high hopes for a brighter future.
Things didn t turn around right away, however, and Dad went several months without finding work. As a result, our family went from poor to destitute, and we depended on the generosity of Fifth Avenue Church for survival. Those good people fed and clothed us for months until Dad w