A New Year’s Challenge

A New Year’s Challenge

As we head into the New Year, I find myself thinking of fresh starts, new beginnings and even spring. Often, we enjoy this chance for a fresh start with resolutions in areas like our looks, health, money, education, or even personal goals like a new hobby. Yet rarely do we think that any real change will happen.

Unfortunately, we often overlook the superpower we have. A superpower that is strong enough to cause change in the lives of others, as well as in our own. “What is this superpower?” you ask. Our attitude! How we view life and the way we treat others greatly affects both us and them. Choosing how we respond to situations in our everyday life, may be one of the most important choices we make daily. These choices are even more important if we have little kids watching our every move.

Recently, I was in the grocery store and—as normal—way behind on my holiday to-do list. My kids, as well as I, had simply had it! After an additional 20 minutes of standing in the checkout lane with a grumpy, over tired toddler—let’s just say—I was happy when our turn finally arrived. The cashier—although very tired looking herself—did not add to my stressed-out mood. Instead of giving me an “only an idiot takes young children shopping” look, or saying something emotionally draining like “Your child is sure noisy!”; she simply smiled. “With the long wait and noisy environment, your toddler is so well behaved,” she commented. Although my child was neither the best nor worst example of toddler behavior, this cashier chose to see the positive of the situation and use it to uplift my focus. Her decision to face yet another customer (in what must have seemed like an unending day for her) with a smile and a positive attitude literally changed my day! Instead of feeling even more drained as I left the store, I left with a new more positive focus. My new attitude in turn affected my interactions with my kids, husband and others I met that afternoon. Instead of spreading a contagious case of the grumpies, she used her superpower to start a ripple effect of kindness and understanding.

How do we use this great superpower we have? Do the comments we make and the way we respond to others, brighten and encourage or tear them down? Do we use it for good or evil? Do we think about choosing to use it in a given situation or with a certain person?

As we face the New Year, I challenge you to bring joy to yourself and others by spreading kindness instead of negativity and thoughtfulness instead of selfishness. Think of positive and negative attitudes spreading like germs— we all know what an epidemic can do! Let’s do our part in making 2019 a superpower year!

A challenge from the nest of the Homesteading Hen.