Few years ago, when I was so caught up in work that I didn't spend much time with my older son, he was acting up at school and just seemed to have a bad attitude. Without realizing that my absence was a big part of the problem, I taught him a phrase that really seemed to help, "Good attitude, good day."
I thought this little phase was what prevented a downward spiral, but in retrospect, I think the attention I spared to teach him this lesson mattered just as much... at that time. Every morning for a few weeks we said together, "Good attitude, good day."
He still remembers this phrase and the key points I made:
1. "Life isn't fair, but you can enjoy it anyway."
2. "You can't control a lot of things, but the one thing you have complete control over is your attitude."
3. "Good attitude, good day. Bad attitude, bad day."
I smiled when I heard this today: (M is 5 yrs. old; A just turned 8)
M: "That's just not fair!"
A: "Remember daddy said life isn't fair, but you can enjoy it anyway."
M: "But, I'm not enjoying this!"
A: "That's because you have a bad attitude. Good attitude, good day."
M: "I'm not having a good day, right now."
A: "You can control your attitude, M. You can just make it good and have a good day."
At this point M was really annoyed because A was actually teasing his little brother... Still, it was a cool dadly moment!
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