Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 8220;If I were any better, I 8217;d be twins! 8221; He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, 8220;I don 8217; t get it. You can 8217; t be positive all the time. How do you do it? 8221;
Michael replied, each morning I wake up and say to myself 8216;Mike, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. 8217; I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. 8221;
8220;Yeah, right. It isn 8217;t that easy. 8221; I protested.
8220;Yes it is, 8221; Michael said. 8220;Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line is: It 8217;s your choice how you live life. 8221; I reflected on what Michael said.
Soon thereafter, I left the big enterprise that I had worked in for years to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often though about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling off 60 feet from a communications tower.
After l8 hours of surgery, and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, 8220;If I were any better, I 8217;d be twins. Wanna see my scars? 8221; I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
8220;The first thing that went through my mind was the well being of my soon-to-born daughter, 8221; Michael replied. 8220;Then, as I lay on the ground, remembered I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live. 8221; 8220;Weren 8217;t you scared? Did you lose consciousness? 8221; I asked. Michael continued, 8221; the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the operation room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, l read 8216;He 8217;s a dead man. 8217; I knew I needed to take action. 8221; 8220;What did you do? 8221; I asked. 8220;Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me 8221; said Michael. 8220;She asked me if I was allergic to anything. 8216;Yes, 8217; I said. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled 8221;, 8216;Gravity 8221; Over their laughter, I told them, 8216;I 8217;m choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead 8217;. 8221;
Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.
I 1eamed from him that every day we have a choice to live fully. Attitude is everything.
迈克尔总是乐呵呵的，你总能听到他说些积极上进的话。他似乎生来就积极进取。他这样告诉他的员工：“每天早晨醒来，我对自己说，迈克尔，今天你有两种选择，选择心情愉快，选择心情恶劣，我选择心情愉快;有不愉快的事情发生，选择成为一个牺牲品，或是选择从中吸取教训，我选择吸取教训。”
迈克尔从60英尺的大楼上摔下，却活了下来，当有人问及他当时的想法，他是这样回答的：“我告诉我的手术医生，‘我选择活着，我愿意做任何手术。’”
选择接受生活的积极面也许是人生中最为明智的选择，其实，每个人都有机会充实、健康的活着，关键取决于你的人生态度。