Your Attitude Can Change Your Life

My friend John C. Maxwell, the best-selling author and leadership expert, says: 

“Your attitude will determine your altitude.” 

He says it in several of his lessons and books, so it must be important, right?

But John Maxwell has never served time in prison. 

How do you have a good attitude when you’re looking at a long sentence, or you’re having a crappy day?  What if your celly is getting on your nerves, or you’re not getting visits or letters? What if your commissary account is at zero?

How can you have a good attitude when you’re locked up?

How you feel emotionally can be what determines your behavior, and more. As a formerly incarcerated person, I believe the right attitude is your secret weapon to surviving incarceration, and reentry success.

Your attitude can change your life. It can determine how you view, and live, life. 

If you’re hopeless, or without options or a purpose, you probably won’t try to change your life. Maybe you’ve tried before and failed.  

Our attitude determines how we react to things, and how they affect us.

Your attitude sometimes determines the outcome of things. Most of the time if you think something will be bad it likely will turn out bad. The opposite is also true.

Never let your happiness or mood be dependent on anyone or anything. 

If you’re locked up your attitude is the only thing you have left that’s totally yours to control. They can lock you up, take your money, your family, your freedom. Don’t let them take your attitude too!

Control and change your attitude so you can build a different future.

Maybe you have had a hard life, and a lot of things happened to you that you didn’t deserve. Maybe that makes you mad. Maybe life didn’t treat you fairly. 

Here’s how to start having the right attitude in those cases:

• Channel your anger into a desire to prove to the world that you aren’t the same person you were, or they thought you were. 
• Channel that energy into changing your attitude and your life.
• Maybe you don’t have anger issues. Find whatever motivation, reason, or desire you need to stop relying on circumstances to control your mood. 
• Instead use that to motivate you to control your reactions to whatever comes your way. 

It will be a fight, but you’re up to the challenge. Manage your attitude daily. What’s the best outcome for you? I want more for you than just getting out of jail or prison. A lot of people get released and don’t know what to do with their lives. Attitude isn’t everything. You must put effort behind your attitude if you really want change. 

I want you to find a purpose you can build your life around, so you can be happy and put incarceration in the rear view mirror. That takes more than attitude, that takes hard work.  When you’re out you have to have the attitude that no matter what you aren’t going back to what got you arrested.  Even if that means leaving friends and family behind. 

Have an attitude that you are going to make it, no matter what they throw at you, because you are tough, and a survivor and you are sick of being stuck in life.  

The key to surviving incarceration, and reentry, is to: Have an attitude that supports the life you want to live. That’s it. Take it day by day, whether things go your way or not. Adjust as necessary. 

There will be days you want to give up.  Don’t.  

You are worth more than that.