Two summers ago my then 8-year-old daughter Sarah was away at camp and was bit by a deer tick. As a result she contracted Lyme Disease. She also experienced severe paralysis on the left side of her face as a side effect, commonly known as Bells Palsy. The condition usually remedy's itself but Sarah's took a very long time. Even now, 18 months later, she still has some paralysis and our neurologist is not sure if it will ever be completely healed. Her Lyme Disease was treated successfully with antibiotics.

Several weeks after she got the Palsy and her Lyme Disease treatments were completed, her and I were talking and having fun. We were poking fun at each other and having a really good time. She would laugh and smile her half smile at me and it touched my heart. I said to her, "Just think Sarah, in a few months your smile will be back to normal!" She looked at me confused, and said, "Oh, you mean I'm not going to be like this forever?" I was floored. I couldn't believe that she had accepted that she was never going to get her full smile back and yet was content and happy and had a great attitude regardless. I firmly believe that children are given to us as OUR teachers even though we mostly think that we are their teachers.

Sarah gave me the gift of attitude that day. I know how important attitude is but this incident gave me insight on a whole different level. Here are some things you can do right now to get the kind of attitude that will propel you toward your goals:

--Learn To Be Thankful For What You Already Have

One of the best ways to be thankful for what you already have is to start keeping a Gratitude Journal. This is a simple notebook or journal where you spend time daily or several times a week writing down what you're thankful for. If you've never tried it, give it a shot. You'll be shocked at what you are really thankful for. You'll find that little things will bring the most gratitude - a hug, smile or facial expression from one of your children. Or your dog's wonderful attitude (that's a whole separate article!). Or the way your spouse leans their head on your shoulder as you sit together. A journal like this allows you to really appreciate the little things that, in our busyness, we overlook. Resolve that going forward you're not going to let these gems of time slip away unnoticed. Resolve now to spend time remembering them, appreciating them and giving thanks for them. When you know what's important to you and you're thankful for them, you become happier.

--Stop Wasting Idle Time Doing Unimportant Things

This one is a favorite of mine, one that I still struggle with. For some reason, we use this one to avoid what we know we should be doing. And let me clarify what we should be doing. In his excellent book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" Dr. Stephen Covey talks about urgent vs. important things. Urgent things are usually things that are important to others but they need our involvement to complete them and they expect us to make them urgent too. You should never let other people's priorities become your emergencies. You have important things to be done as well. Things like goal setting, dream building and relationships. When we let unimportant urgencies dominate our time we never have time for the important things that really make the difference in our quality of life. Doing the important things in life creates in us a great attitude because we know that we're doing what we should be.

--Start Worrying Less And Enjoying Life More

In his "Little Red Book of Selling" Jeffrey Gitomer says, "Resign your position as general manger of the universe. The less time you spend in other people's business, other people's problems, and other people's drama, the more time you'll have for your own success." How true is that? Especially as salespeople we think we have to fix everything from manufacturing and processing problems to our customer's personal problems. Forget that and start working on yourself. That's the only thing you can affect. This gives you more time to enjoy your life and what you've already accomplished. If you have children, nothing in life will even come close to the love and gratification you get from watching and being with them. We spend all this time chasing other things looking for that certain "something" that's going to make all the difference. If you have children, you already have it. You just haven't realized it or spend enough time with them to realize it. When you continually work on yourself, you improve your attitude because you're making progress in your life.

These are just a sampling of the things that you can do to improve your attitude but I think they are foundational. Getting back in touch with what's important to us aligns us with what's right with the world. I love this quote from author Jack Anthony, "I have never been a millionaire. But I have enjoyed a crackling fire, a glorious sunset, a walk with a friend and a hug from a child. There are plenty of life's tiny delights for all of us." When you're focused on what's important, your life can only improve. I know you can do it and I definitely believe in you!