By: Robert Schuller (1986) In an earlier bok, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do. I tried to inspire troubled persons to believe they could make it successfully and proudly through life’s tough, terrible troubles, tragedies, and tribulations. Over one million copies have been sold, and people began to respond: “How? Tell me---- how I can become a tough person----tough enough to withstand the tough times and still be tender to love again?” A second book was my answer to that question. The Be Happy Attitudes offered eight attitudes to re-orient the mental processes, turning sufferers into survivors and undergoers into overcomers. The book is based on eight wise sentences of the greatest mind-healer of all times----Jesus Christ. Attitude #1: “I need help----I can’t do it alone.”
You can sweat and struggle, but you will succeed when you are humble enough to call for and then accept help. This is a hefty, but healthy, dent in the destructive, self-centered, self-sufficient ego. Attitude #2: “I’m really hurting—but I am going to bounce back!”
“Being able to admit this sure does hurt my ego! But, on the other hand, it surely helps my hurting heart!” Attitude #3: “I’m going to remain cool, calm, and collected.”
“I just might make it, if I can control my emotions, not get hot-headed, stay cool, and not panic! I must not be too proud to stand corrected!” (That inhibiting, growth-stifling ego is beginning to crumble.) Attitude #4: “I really want to do the right thing!”
“I don’t want to do it my way, I want to do the right thing. Ouch! There goes another crack in that tough ego!” Attitude #5: “I’m going to treat others the way that I want others to treat me.”
“I don’t know what’s happening to my old trouble-making ego, but my new-bore self-esteem sure feels good!” Attitude #6: “I’ve got to let the faith flow free through me.”
What is faith? Faith is possibility thinking; It’s believing “that with God all things are possible.” But all the positive attitudes in the world lose their power and steam if they are not rooted in the faithful presence and promises of God. Attitude $7: “I’m going to be a bridge builder.”
“So, I’ll compromise; I’ll give and take,; I’ll negotiate! My ego shield has been crushed; my strong bridge-building self-esteem is reaching out to others.” Attitude $8: I can choose to be happy—anyway!”
“When the tough times don’t pass, ----what then? When the story doesn’t have a happy-ever-after ending----what do I do? Choose happiness anyway!” Readers of The Be Happy Attitudes often tell me the book has helped, but sometimes they inquire: “Can I really be happy----anyway? I need stronger encouragement and deeper insight to believe I can be happy when I’m hurting!” I do believe that in the midst of horrific trouble, you can out-live and out-last---- if you out-love your tough times! The secret? You never lose hope! Remember: God loves you----and so do I! Simple? Yes! Is love enough? Amazingly, yes! The truth is that you can be happy—if you know you are loved! So, this book is my answer----the final volume in what I pray will be a Trilogy of Hope: I. Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do! II. The Be Happy Attitudes III Be Happy—You Are Loved! P.S. Remember, though times never last, but tough people do God loves you! And I do too. Robert Schuller (1986) Return to the Old & Familiar Poetry.. Return to the main site menu.. Church of the Science of God La Jolla, California 92038-3131 (858)220-1604 © Church of the Science of GOD, 1993 |