One day I was walking through my living room at home and saw a sharp ax fly up and hit someone in the head. Brain matter splattered everywhere. After the initial shock, I turned to my husband and daughter who were sitting on the couch, and asked them, “What on earth are you watching?” Without taking their eyes off of the TV, one of them mumbled The Walking Dead.
This was several years ago, and unbeknownst to me at the time, this was a very popular horror-drama television series that had been on for several seasons. The premise of the show is about the lead character, Rick Grimes, who awakens after a coma and discovers a world overrun by zombies, commonly known as “WALKERS,” who have been infected with an epidemic.
Since then I’ve learned that there are many fans of the show and you might be one of them. Well I never got hooked on the show primarily due my lack of tolerance for blood and guts. But anytime I’d walk through the room and see the zombies, it reminded me of people I used to work with and some of my relatives with negative, bad attitudes who groan, moan, and drag themselves through life.
What about you? Have you ever groaned and moaned over things you had to do? Okay, confession time. There have been times I’ve had a rotten stinking attitude. Maybe that’s why I love to teach on attitudes in the workplace, because I’ve been an expert on bad attitudes. One way to cure that problem is to have a different perspective about your job. My sister is a 911 dispatcher in Orlando, Florida. She usually takes over 200 calls a day. She doesn’t recommend you move there because of the number of shootings, robberies, and crime. It’s a very stressful job.
Is your job that stressful? Let’s wake up and think, when the photocopier breaks down, is that a real reason to get a bad attitude? What about when someone drinks the last cup of coffee or when a customer complains about their bill for the umpteenth time? If you have a creepy boss or co-worker whose attitude always smells like rotten dead flesh, don’t go to their grave, or down to their level and act like them. Get a different perspective about your day and you’ll find gratitude in your heart for the job you’ve been blessed with. Start acting alive today!