Attitudes are contagious, they say. But the question is this: Would anyone want to catch yours?

Quite honestly, I have to do attitude checkups all the time, because my attitude can go south very easily. It can be something as simple as a rainy day or some unexpected expense, and I’m having to get my attitude out of the dumps!

Furthermore, there’s lots of negativity around us—we hardly ever hear good reports in the news and so many people seem to be going through tough times—so it can be a struggle to stay positive in a negative world. I’ve even heard people say that it’s unrealistic to be a positive person in today’s world.

I believe this is one of the areas where we can have a strong witness on our jobs, if we can keep our attitudes where they should be. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a hope that is steadfast and sure which supersedes this world and all its problems. We have the power, because of Jesus, to be joyful and positive no matter what’s going on around us. But we must be intentional about this, periodically evaluating where we are attitudinally so we keep ourselves from going negative.

Let’s take a look at some key areas where our attitudes can easily start to go downhill. I imagine you’ll be able to relate to some of these.

Griping and Complaining

Have you ever been around someone who loved disasters and crises? I’ve run into that person on a job or two of mine. They gripe about everything and everybody, and seem to really enjoy spreading any bad news they can dig up. Even when there’s something good happening, they’ll find the fly in the ointment and do their best to spoil the good times for everyone else. That person can get on our nerves after a while!

Have you noticed that when you see that person coming, you tend to get real busy or walk in the other direction? Really, a complaining person is not someone you love to be with.

It would be nice if the tendency to gripe and complain would go away once we decide to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. But we are still vulnerable to this bad habit. As I said earlier, I can fall into that complaining bad habit before I know what has hit me. There’s a verse in the Bible that hits me—right between the eyes: Do everything without complaining or arguing. (Philippians 2:14)

Everything leaves no room for fudging, because it includes our unfair wages, the difficult boss, the annoying co-worker, the computer system which never works right, the way the company treats us, and even the weather! Complaining is such a waste of energy and it’s stressful on us as well as everyone around us!

It could be that you don’t even realize how often you complain. It’s easy to be in auto-mode when it comes to complaining, and so I have a suggestion to help you break that bad habit. I challenge you to go through an entire day without complaining about anything. Set that as your goal, and be aware all day long of what you’re saying. If you start to complain, just stop in the middle of your sentence and get out of complaint-mode.

I remember the first time I did that, how surprised I was at how many times in a normal day I started to complain about something. It may surprise you as well. In fact, I’ve got a card to remind you not to complain; you can find that on our website, or call us and we’ll send it to you.

Don’t Like the Job

Did you know studies show that almost half of the people in the workplace report that they really don’t like their jobs? Wow, that’s rather discouraging. I can just visualize those thousands and thousands of people headed out to their jobs each day with dread. This reminds me of that old commercial about the man whose job was to bake donuts everyday: “Time to make the donuts.” You could see it in his face and hear it in his voice—he hated to make those donuts.

Can people see in your face and hear in your voice that you hate your job? Maybe you’re overworked or underpaid; perhaps the job is beneath you or too much for you; maybe the working conditions seem unbearable to you. For these or other reasons, you have gotten to the place where you really hate to go to work.

I’ve noticed that when people have that attitude, they usually don’t do their work very well. When you really don’t like your job, you can find yourself totally unmotivated to do what you’re supposed to do. You can even justify it in your mind—that you aren’t obligated to work hard because you’re in a tough job for whatever reason.

As Christians, we are obligated by our commitment to the principles of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to work with all our might at whatever we’re doing because, ultimately, we’re working for the Lord and not for people.

If you’ve been hating your job lately, remember that God can help you with an attitude adjustment. You may not be able to change the things you don’t like about your job, but you can, by God’s grace, change your attitude. Your attitude is your choice.

Trying to Control the Uncontrollable

Have you ever noticed how upset we get over the uncontrollable things that happen in our days? It’s one of our major energy leaks, and it can really ruin our attitudes. Start to notice how often you get upset or irritated over things which are totally out of your control. I think you may be surprised to discover how often it happens.

Trying to control the uncontrollable is a futile effort; all it does is put you in a bad mood. While you’re fretting over things which you cannot control, you are losing control of the things you can control.

For example, you can control your words and avoid saying things which upset or discourage others. But when you’re trying to control the uncontrollable, you often lose control of the words you say and end up saying things that are hurtful or discouraging.

You can control how you think and bring every thought into captivity. But when you’re trying to control the uncontrollable, you lose control of your thoughts and start thinking all kinds of negative, unkind, and untrue things.

Here’s a good motto for you and me to remember: If you will control the controllable, you can cope with the uncontrollable.

Focus on staying in control of the things that are your responsibility; when you do, you’ll have the strength to cope with those uncontrollable events in your day. How do you do this? The Apostle Paul gave us some very good advice:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

If you really practice this principle on your job, you’ll have a very good work attitude; in the process, you’ll also reduce your stress, improve your productivity, and enhance your witness for the Lord. God’s Word is relevant to the uncontrollable things that will happen to you today—don’t forget it.

Difficult Co-Workers

I’ve finally concluded that if I didn’t have to deal with other people, life would be easy! Do you ever feel that way? It just amazes me how many people don’t think like I think, don’t see things the way I see them, and don’t hold the same obviously correct opinion that I hold! Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady” expressed this frustration in the song: Why can’t a woman be more like a man? But I think the words need to be slightly re-arranged: Why can’t people be more like me?!

Often these people-conflicts can ruin our attitudes and drag us down rather quickly. Have you ever tried the simple technique of putting difficult people in a different frame? This is a wonderful way to keep your attitude in good shape—and it’s right out of God’s Word:

“If you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God, fix your   minds on whatever is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and    praiseworthy” (J.B. Phillips, Philippians 4:8).

Often when we must deal with difficult people, we focus so much on their negative qualities that we totally lose sight of their good ones. The King James Version on Philippians 4:8 says to think about the good reports; I love that phrase because so often I’m prone to think about the bad reports.

That person who is causing you trouble right now—there is some good report about that person if you’ll just look for it. Make yourself think about the good report, the new frame you’ve put them in. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to get along with them.

Once you get used to this practice of re-framing people who are difficult, you’ll discover the great side benefits: reduced stress, less anxiety, better sleep, happier days. You will benefit more than anyone else when you learn to re-frame and think about the good reports, not just the bad ones.

Practice Thankfulness

The antidote to a bad attitude is thankfulness. It’s learning to appreciate what you have instead of focusing on what you don’t have. It’s intentionally becoming more and more aware of all you have to be thankful for, and expressing thanks often throughout each day. For example, do you appreciate the job you have? I know it’s not perfect; no job is. But have you thought that there are probably lots of people who would be thankful to have a job, period?

The Apostle Paul wrote this: “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything. . .” (Ephesians 5:19-20). It’s good to recognize that Paul didn’t write that we are to feel thankful, because often those feelings just aren’t there. But you and I can still choose to be thankful by reciting words of thanks and refusing to allow our attitudes to get into the griping pits.

If you are having some difficulty with your work attitude now, are you willing to put this passage to the test? First, start singing in your heart to the Lord. You know some good songs and hymns and praise choruses; sing one right now—out loud or inside your heart. Then thank God for whatever it is that you don’t like in your life right now. Tell him that you trust him to make lemonade out of these lemons and that, by a set of your will, you will choose to be thankful. This is the best attitude adjustment you’ll ever have.

Someone has said that “Life is ten-percent what happens to us and ninety-percent how we respond to it.” Attitude is in large part a function of how we respond to what’s happening to us and around us. The good news is this: you can choose to have a positive attitude any day and any time at which you choose. Your attitude is definitely your choice: no one can make you stay in negative territory; you have control over your attitude. The good news is that as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have his Spirit within you, giving you motivation and power to bring your attitude under the control of God’s Spirit.

When you and I are able to demonstrate calm, peaceful, and thoughtful responses to the craziness that may be going on around us, we become the Word of God in action. Paul said this of the Corinthian Christians: “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3).

When you have a joyful attitude and a thankful heart, you become the Word of God to the people around you. They “read you,” as it were, as though you are a letter from Christ to them. They might never open a Bible to read it—in fact, they may never have read a Bible before in their lives. But you can become God’s Word in action. Keeping your attitude in good shape is one powerful way to show Jesus to others.