“We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.” – Chuck Swindoll

I remember it like it was yesterday. The Appalachian State Mountaineers had not suffered a home loss in 30 straight games. Then on October 20, 2007, six weeks after we had defeated Michigan in the Big House, the Georgia Southern Eagles came to The Rock and walked out with a 38-35 victory.

I was mad. The trash can I kicked on the way out of the stadium had done nothing to me, but I felt it should be punished for its part in our undoing. My friends and I spent our walk back to the car loudly blaming our players, the refs, our coaches, the band, the hot dog vendors…anyone involved with the program.

Then something dawned on me. I thought to myself, “Mike, you just had a great day. The Boone weather was perfect. The tailgate party was a success. You ran into some friends you haven’t seen in years. You got to witness a pretty exciting game. And then you let what a bunch of 19 year old kids did on a football field wreck your awesome day.”

That App State loss changed my life. At that moment I decided to refuse to allow the actions of others affect my attitude. Don’t get me wrong. I still would rather see the Black and Gold get a check in the “W” column. But, I no longer let it cloud my weekend when we lose. I don’t want to give anyone that power.

Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. Take charge of your attitude.