Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac . I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day . So grab your cup of coffee , sit back , relax and let me help you start your day right .
Recently , a group of German physicians and psychologists , in cooperation with some insurance companies , did a rather unusual study , and the conclusion they came up with was that if you want to be happy , healthy , successful and live longer , give your spouse a kiss before you go to work each day day .
Now , according to Dr Arthur Sasbo , the study found that those who kiss their spouse each morning miss less work because of illness than those who do not . They also have fewer auto accidents on the way to work .
They earn 20 to 30 percent more monthly and they live about five years longer than those who don't even bother to give their spouse a peck on the cheek , than those who don't even bother to give their spouse a peck on the cheek . The reason for this , according to Dr Sasbo , is that the kissers begin the day with a positive attitude .
A kiss signifies a sort of seal of approval , says Sasbo and his colleagues , and they believe that those who don't experience it , for whatever reason , go out the door feeling not quite right about themselves . Note what he said it is not the kiss itself that brings all those extra benefits . It's what the kiss represented . It represents a positive attitude .
Positive attitude about your spouse , about your situation . It's a unifying moment between a husband and wife . At the beginning of the day it's like saying I'm with you today , I'm supporting you , I love you , and off we go to face our day .
It doesn't take you very long when you start studying interpersonal relationships and leadership , especially before you come across vast amounts of material that tell you that attitude is so key and so important to develop in your life and develop relationships in your life .
If your attitude is bad , you're going to struggle in almost every situation you face , but when your attitude is good , you're going to find answers to problems . You're going to find abilities that you never knew you had before , because your mind is approaching the situation differently than it is when you have a bad attitude .
Paul talks about this actually in the book of Philippians , in chapter 4 and verse 11 , he said I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances . See , right there Paul is telling us that his attitude has very little to do with the circumstances that he's going through .
When our attitude is based upon circumstances , our attitudes can change very quickly from good to bad , to good to bad , to deeper bad . It can jump all over the place very , very quickly . But Paul had learned that , no matter what the circumstances , he was going to maintain a positive attitude and it made all the difference in his life .
Then , in verse 12 , he says I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty . I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation , whether well-fed or hungry , whether living in plenty or in want . Right there Paul is telling us that we can actually learn to change our attitudes .
We're not going to be able to get away with saying , well , that's just the way I am , I have a bad attitude . No , it's something that we can learn to change . Paul talks about going through all the things that were bad and good in his life , but in all of it he was working to maintain the same attitude , through it all .
And so that for each one of us , we need to know that our attitudes can improve if we learn the secret , the secret to keeping a good attitude , no matter what . And then he tells us in verse 13 , exactly what that secret is . He says I can do all this through him , who gives me strength .
We don't have the strength within us to deal with all of the negative circumstances around us , and if we wait for the circumstances to change until we start to think better about ourselves and about what's happening , we're going to get really frustrated and we're going to go down deeper and deeper into a very dark , dark hole .
And we don't need to be there , because the answer from God is that we can do all things through him . Who gives us strength In the times where we feel the weakest ? Christ comes , and he gives us strength to be able to move ahead and to keep a positive attitude , to keep looking forward , to keep pressing forward .
He encourages us with the right mindset and the right ability to look ahead . It is so important and so powerful when we learn to control our attitudes , to make sure that we don't have that deep , dark , stinking attitude that drags us down , but instead we have one that looks up and looks ahead .
Maybe the first thing that we should learn to do is to make sure that we kiss our spouses first thing every morning . Add that to your time you spend talking with the Lord every morning and your attitude will change for the better . Have a great day , my friends . We'll talk again tomorrow .
Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday , right here on Starting Right with Danny Mac .