Where Do You Start?
Begin by building a good foundation. One of the best ways to begin is by examining your attitude. Sometimes adjustments to our attitudes can create the desired changes we are seeking. On the following few pages, you will find information about the importance of developing and keeping a positive attitude.

  I. YOUR ATTITUDE

 HOW DOES YOUR ATTITUDE AFFECT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?

When you have a positive attitude in your home with your family, you let your family know that you can achieve success!  The opposite is true with a negative attitude. A negative attitude tells your family that you cannot achieve success. Attitudes are contagious, and we choose our attitudes. Which kind of attitude are you choosing?

 What is your attitude?

Begin with a review of the attitudes of the adults in your home. What are the attitudes of the adults in your home towards family and household chores? What are your attitudes? Would improving adult attitudes improve the living conditions in your home and make life easier for you?

 Unfortunately, many in our present-day society do not seem to value the tremendous importance of raising children and creating a clean, comfortable, organized home. Negative societal attitudes towards housekeeping and childcare can be easily transferred to children and to us. Recently, I heard a young mother with three preschool children share one of her attitude strategies. 

A MESSAGE FROM A YOUNG MOTHER

“How do you do it?” the young mother began. 

Her reply was interesting. “I look at taking care of my home and children as an essential job,” she said. “Actually, I think of myself as the CEO of my family. My husband is a carpenter, so he works outside the home. I am in charge of my children and all household tasks. That includes organizing when, where, and how tasks are completed. I make it a point to get up early each morning to dress for ‘work’ and do my hair before beginning my daily jobs. My devotional time is part of my early morning. However, some days I move my devotional time to later in the day. I also make tasks fun for my children and me.” 

What Can Her Story Mean To Us?

Hearing this young mother describe her CEO’s fun job made me think of my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Their attitudes were similar to this young mother. They worked hard and included everyone, including toddlers, in the tasks at hand. “Many hands make work light,” my great-grandmother would say. We would talk together as we worked hard. As a young child, I didn’t understand all that I was learning. However, as a child, I felt included. Working together gave me the sense that I was contributing to the family. I also had fun working and listening to grandmother, and great-grandmother tell us stories about our family long ago. I remember those stories, and now I share them with new generations of our family.  

In conclusion, if you are grappling with your attitude, try thinking like this young woman and our great grandmothers. Try thinking of yourself as the CEO of your family and dress for work! Give it a go for at least two weeks and see if it changes your attitude. Remember what our great grandmothers would say, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”