What's With The Attitude, Kid?

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(Edited)

It's funny when your 8 year old can spark inspiration for a blog post but that's exactly what has happened with this post.

Girl, Angry, Face, Upset, Unhappy, Expression, Young
Picture courtesy of Pixabay.
(Not my kid! haha)


My oldest is 8 but lately it seems like most days, she's 16. I think many parents will be able to relate to what I mean by that….it's her attitude! She was having a particularly difficult day recently. Nothing was working out for her and it ranged from things she could control (asking for ice cream for breakfast probably wasn't the best decision because she knew the answer already!) to things that she couldn't control (it was raining so she couldn't play outside with her friends).

So she decided the best way to handle those situations was to mope around the house and become negative about everything.

I mean everything!

Now, there are very few moments as a parent where I feel like I am #winning but I knew in the midst of her meltdown, I had a choice to make. I could choose to yell and give that attitude right back (which is always the easier, less productive route) or attempt to explain how her negative attitude was impacting her ability to see past her circumstances. Big words for an 8 year old but believe it or not, she got it. Once she could see that it was actually the way she was viewing things that day that was bringing her down, her attitude changed immensely.

Impossible, Possible, Attitude, Positive, Cut, Two
Picture courtesy of Pixabay.

So, she fixed it. She smiled, found positive things to focus on and guess what? Her day got better! It was amazing to watch her figure it all out. Standing around staring out the window focusing on the rain wasn't going to cheer her up. Building a fort with her little sister however made her laugh really hard. In that moment, she removed herself from the negative and found a positive solution to change her perspective. Now, she can't make it stop raining but she can change how it effects her in that moment. That's where the magic is.

Do you ever notice how sometimes when you're hanging around someone who is constantly negative, you start to feel down or like the energy is being drained from you? I call those people energy vampires! We actually do that to ourselves constantly without even knowing it.

Even as adults, it's important to remember that no matter what is going on, we always have the ability to rise up beyond the circumstances we're in. Sometimes it's something we can fix immediately and other times it's something that might take a little time.

Obviously, there are some things that happen in life that just plain suck no matter what! In those cases, I try to remind myself that it won't be like this always and that tomorrow is always a fresh start!

Poster, Motivation, Motivational Poster, Think Positive
Picture courtesy of Pixabay.

Almost always though, changing our attitude can change the way we view what's going on around us. It's not easy but man, is it ever nice once you break the habit of always seeing the glass half empty! Opportunities arise that you couldn't even have imagined before because now, you're choosing to look past your circumstances and see them. It's then that you realize that the possibilities are endless.

What are some things you do to try to change your day around when you find yourself becoming an energy vampire?

I know my daughter would recommend building a fort!



Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://www.janellepineau.net/whats-with-the-attitude-kid/


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14 comments
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This is so true. This is great content!

It's amazing. I just had a conversation with my wife this morning. She phoned me and told me about a negative atmosphere in the office where she is working. I told her to focus on herself and what she is doing. You cannot control what happens around you, but you can control yourself...it's called self-control.

When I spoke to her again later, she was feeling much better, regardless of everything going on around her.

I firmly believe, it is not about what happens around us (and sometimes even to us), but it is about how we respond to it.

I heard a great way of explaining this over the weekend. Someone can give you a free T-shirt. Be polite and say thank you. Even if you don't like it, you still say thank you and you accept it...that's the decent thing to do, but you don't have to wear it.

Thank you for sharing this with us. I really enjoyed reading it!

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Thank you so much for this comment. It's awesome that your wife was able to turn her day around! That's a huge win.

Also I love your analogy. If more people thought that way our world would be very different today instead of so many of us looking inward for the wrong reasons.

It really changes your perspective automatically when you can put others first. Figuring out how to do that without sacrificing your own standards is key.

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My mom used to ask "Are you crabby today?" Talk about a no-win question. If I say no, I know I have to shape up. If I say yes I have to tell why. Generally speaking that simple question had a profound impact on my outlook.

It's a seriously good lesson for Sophia to learn. With the right attitude you can turn a disappointment into a positive.

Thanks for a great post Jangle. Made me ask myself the question. Always a good start.

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Our power comes from how we choose to react to what is going on around us! Paraphrasing a quote that I have seen around many times. I am happy to hear that the drama was kept to a minimum and things turned out well.

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Thanks Lisa. I was also very happy that it was kept to a minimum LOL

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You're welcome, Janelle! My parents had four of us, all girls in a 5 1/2 year time span. I am often amazed at how really little drama there was in our home.

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(Edited)

My son is 14, and I can totally relate with that you are saying... :) And words sometimes don't work (in the short-term), but I'm 100% sure that they work in a long-term...

And yes, negativity is probably more "catchy" than positivity (or it just sticks easier to us), but as you said, the process can be reversed... We can start to build that fort and our attitude can change...

And regarding "energy vampires", they can be very dangerous as we can be sucked-out without knowing that... and maybe become one of them without knowing it...

I know that I have said that I'm a kind of them, but it was in another way... 🤣

Thanks for sharing this awesome post!



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14 oh boy...I know that you understand! Thanks for the great comment :)

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Thank you Janell for your very uplifting post. I have been having a low energy, down kind of day and reading this helped lift my spirits. I have reblogged your post to my page.

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Aw that's so awesome to hear Steven. I'm really glad it helped.

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You are totally right, you are a product of your environment. If you surround yourself with negative people or excuse makers your productivity and attitude will go down. Seems like most people today choose to take the easy way out and not teach their kids the right way to be. It's great to see that you were able to give your daughter a better way of looking at things.

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Thank you, Mike. That means a lot.

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