Your Attitude Predicts Your Altitude

I remember for years I would pray for God to "pass me the ball". I was never great at sports, so I did not mean an actual ball, but I wanted opportunities to advance His mission. I wanted opportunities so bad. I was married and had children early, and I wanted to make sure I gave them all the opportunities in the world. With every blessing I was given, I was already looking ahead at the next opportunity. I would start the conversation again, "God, pass me the ball. I will take it and use it to your glory." Usually I was referring to my career. My path was never easy. I would pray for an opportunity and God would give it to me. Then it would get difficult. I would pray...why me? God impressed on me His words in Luke 12:48.

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected."

When Jeff and I were dating and first married, it was just us. We had almost no money. It was honestly easy to love each other and appreciate each other. Then God blessed us with our children, a home, cars, and great jobs. All of these these blessings came with more money, expectations, pressure and stress. Life is not going to coast by as it becomes more complicated. In my career, I moved from staff nurse to manager, director, Regional VP, Assistant VP and now VP. Every step in my career was exciting, but every step came with more responsibility, larger problems to solve, and more people to deal with. What drives me is having great impact. I took every role because of the impact opportunity, but the issues stalling the impact often seem impossible. Trust me when I say, nothing is impossible for God, but they may be very uncomfortable in the process. One key lesson I continue to learn is that it is all about the ATTITUDE. How people deal with problems will dictate God's blessings. Your attitude predicts your altitude. Do you believe that? I am convinced of this in the beatitudes.

The Beatitudes

3 “Blessed are the humble in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

It is so easy to act out when things go bad. Throwing a fit feels great in the moment, but that reaction is for cowards. Forgiving those that do not deserve it, asking for help, taking the high road, showing compassion, and choosing your battles demands courage. A child throws a tantrum. Immaturity must get the last word and prove their point, but those that will be blessed are humble peacemakers. The most successful leaders can respectfully argue their point in the board room and leave straight from there and have dinner with their "opponent" that night.

In the business world we constantly talk about EQ or emotional intelligence. If Jesus was to write a business book, I think it would have been centered around EQ. Emotional Intelligence is basically your ability to manage your own emotions and the emotions of others. We are confused that not agreeing with others lifestyle means we do not love them. Jesus proved the opposite. Jesus's love for people had nothing to do with their actions. His attitude of humility, grace, love, and mercy was always demonstrated to people from all walks of life. He never compromised His beliefs and always spoke truth, but had incredible EQ which allowed people to both listen and be heard by Jesus. If you would like to learn more about EQ for the business world, study Jesus.

I pray that each and everyone of us walk into work tomorrow with an attitude that allows Gods blessings to flow. I pray our attitude makes us soar to altitudes we never dreamed about. I pray that with every blessing we appreciate every issue and know God is building our character to handle the next blessing. Finally, I pray that we live a life like Jesus, always loving, serving and and speakingwith humility to those we encounter. AMEN

I love you all,

Have a great week!

Crystal