It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out; it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.

It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out; it’s the grain of sand in your shoe. – Robert W. Service

Don’t let the sand in your shoe ruin your enjoyment of climbing the mountain! Keep a good attitude!

What does that mean?
Humans are odd creatures. They can endure some of the most incredible hardships with hardly a peep, but will get all upset over something tiny by comparison. To me, that’s what this quote is about. Hiking up a mountain, it is no big deal.

However, the grain of sand in your shoe, that’s what is going to wear you out. If you’ve ever been walking and gotten some sand or a tiny pebble in your shoe, you know what he means. It will drive you to distraction in a very short time, right?

To me, this quote is about our attitude. It’s important to be able to endure the little annoyances and stay focused on accomplishing the big things. We must keep our attitude positive, work through the little things and keep working on the big things. That’s how we get things done, at least that’s how it works for me.

Why is our attitude important?  
Our attitudes can easily become a self-fulfilling prophesy, where we take the attitude that nothing is going to go right, and pretty soon, that is what appears to be happening. Your mind will delete, ignore or minimize anything that contradicts your belief (which is what your attitude will become, if you hold it long enough).

If your attitude is positive, your brain will start looking for anything that supports your belief (or your attitude, if you haven’t held it long enough). This is where I try to spend my time, in a positive place, with a positive attitude, and my mind trying to find the things that best match my attitude and beliefs.

While it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do, I find that it is worth the effort. By keeping at least a slightly positive attitude and belief system, I give myself the best possible chance of having my mind find and report on all the good or positive things going on around me. That is worth a lot to me, and it helps reinforce my attitude and beliefs.

Where can I apply this in my life?
This turned out to be a prophetic quote to have waiting for me to work on. Today was a ‘death by a thousand cuts’ kind of day. The good news, I got a second monitor. Yeah! The bad news, it’s not working. Boo! The good news, we can get you a replacement. Yeah! The bad news, the guy who does that won’t be back until next week. Boo! (Banging my head against desk)

Everything seemed to be one step forward, and two steps back. My attitude was rapidly going down hill, and my mind was starting to focus on all the other things that weren’t going well. That was rapidly becoming a downward spiral, threatening to swamp me in negativity. That’s not a place I like to visit, not even briefly. Time for an attitude adjustment.

What is the grain of sand in your shoe? What is the little irritant that really gets to you? Look at all the different aspects of your life, and all the different roles you play in your life. What about your relationships with others?

Is it a mountain that causes most breakups in the dating world, or is it the grain of sand in the shoe, the little things that just annoy the heck out of people? “They are perfect, except they always do,” right? Have you ever become so angry with someone you had an argument, only to realize that it was the sand that was bothering you? I know I have.

With a grain of sand in your shoe, you can stop, remove the shoe, shake the sand out, and be back on your way fairly easily in most cases. However, many of us never bother to do that in our real lives with the other irritants. We just put up with them, at least for a time.

While we are putting up with them, our attitude is begins to sour. Eventually we start looking for all the things that are wrong with that which is annoying us, rather than all that is good about it. If it’s a person or a relationship, that’s going to end badly, right?

The next time you find yourself becoming annoyed at something, try to remember that this is really just a grain of sand (or, perhaps, a tiny pebble). Take the time and get rid of it. Talk to the person who is managing to annoy you at the moment, or find some way to release the frustration, so that you can get your attitude back on track.

Our attitude isn’t a product of events, but is a conscious choice we make. If we fail to chose, we drift and our attitude will cling to recent events and trends. I prefer to chose my course, rather than drift. How about you, are you the captain of your fate, or are you just a passenger?

PS – It just figures. As I am finishing this post, Pandora decided to take a moment for a “maintenance break.” Wonderful. This just isn’t my day. However, tomorrow is another day, and will almost certainly be a better day than today. I try my best to keep a positive attitude.

From: Twitter, @streetstosucces
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/robertwse201755.html
Photo by AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker