Attitude

Jerry was a restaurant manager who was always in a good mood and had something positive to say. When asked how he was doing, he would reply: "If I were any better, I would be twins!" Whenever he changed jobs, many waiters and waitresses followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always supportive and told the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Having heard about Jerry made me really curious.

So, one day I went to the restaurant where Jerry worked and told him that I've heard so many good things about him and his upbeat attitude, and I told him: "I don't get it. Certainly, it is not possible that everyday is a nice day. How do you do it?"

Jerry replied, "Each morning when I wake up, I tell myself: I have two choices. I can choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood. Then, I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be just a victim or I can choose to learn from it; I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to just listen to the complaint or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose to point out the positive side of life."

"But it's not always that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is. Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a matter of your choice. You can choose how to react to situations. You can choose how people will affect your mood. You can choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. It's your choice how you want to live your life," Jerry replied.

Several years later, I heard that one evening, as he was closing up the restaurant, Jerry accidentally left the restaurant's back door open---that is one thing you must never do in the restaurant business, especially at night! That was the time that three armed men broke in and tried to rob the restaurant. When the robbers ordered him to open the safe, his hand shook nervously and slipped off the combination. One of the robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital. After hours of surgery and weeks in the hospital, Jerry was discharged with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

Six months after the incident, I saw Jerry. When I asked him how he was, he gave his usual reply, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Want to see my scars?"

I politely declined, but did ask him what went through his mind during the robbery.

Jerry said: "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have kept the back door locked. Then, after I got shot, as I laid on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared?" I asked.

Jerry continued: The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctor and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read: 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, when a nurse asked if I was allergic to anything. The doctors and nurses stopped everything as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead'."

Thanks to the skill of the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff as well as Jerry's amazing attitude, Jerry lived.

From him I learned that: everyday one has the choice to either enjoy and love or hate life. The one and only thing which no one can control or take away is your ATTITUDE. If one can master taking the proper attitude, everything else in life becomes much easier.