By Chris Kovatch

Attitude. This one little word has the power to make things happen or break things apart. It can bring people together or send them fleeing. 

A positive attitude or outlook can make your day much more enjoyable. When a group of like-minded and focused individuals come together they can yield much better results when in the same mindset. 

This isn’t to say that we can’t have different opinions. It’s how we express those opinions that matter. 

But when we allow negativity to enter our lives it festers and spreads to others. It’s like a disease for which there is no cure. 

I understand that we all have days where things go wrong and it’s easy to become disenchanted. It’s important to get into the habit of when bad things happen that we remember the good things that we have. 

Having a positive outlook is so much easier.

To me when I get down, it’s almost like I have to work to get there and stay there. Positivity is a much more enjoyable place to be. 

Our area has so many promising projects lined up. I know not everyone will agree with all aspects of them. What I hope we can all agree on is that it’s time for positive changes to happen. 

If you have a view and want it to be heard, then get involved. Be a part of the change. Be active in your community. Don’t just offer comments from the sidelines. It is very easy to vocalize one’s feelings, but it speaks volumes when you get up and become a part of the change you wish to see. 

Be positive. Approach each day with a deliberate attitude. As a negative attitude creates confusion and chaos, on the opposite end of the spectrum, a positive one can change the world. Let’s all agree we are ready for great things to happen and work together on getting there. 

This is one of my favorite quotes and something I try to live by each day. I am taking a little liberty in sharing it in its entirety, but I feel it is worth it. 

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,…” 

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt

Let’s dare mighty things. Let’s get our hands dirty as we work to grow our community. Will we have failures? Of course, we will.

What matters is we will get back up and press forward. Together.