KIRO NEWSRADIO OPINION

Jake: The best advice I ever got from my grandfather, echoed by Tim Tebow

May 12, 2026, 10:59 AM

Tim Tebow attitude advice...

Sports broadcaster, Tim Tebow, looks on prior to a game. (Photo: Norm Hall, Getty Images)

(Photo: Norm Hall, Getty Images)

Someone asked me recently how I stay positive given everything going on in the world — especially living in Washington. The question caught me off guard. I’d never really thought about it, but the answer traces back to my grandpa.

This morning, Tim Tebow posted something on X that brought it all rushing back:

“Attitude is a choice. Gratitude is a discipline. Bitterness is expensive.”

Hard to argue with that

Here’s the memory it unlocked: after my grandpa passed — an illness that took him from us too soon — my mom and her siblings were helping my grandma clean out his office. On his desk, they found a handwritten note. A list of his priorities for the year. Near the top: have a top attitude.

That note has become a Skorheim family mantra. One I’m trying to pass down to my own sons.

It sounds like a magic trick, but it isn’t. You can literally decide what kind of life you want by choosing your attitude every single day. When you have a good attitude, and bad things happen, they just somehow don’t hit as hard. The older I get, the clearer this becomes: You can’t control what comes your way, but you can control your response.

Thanks for the reminder, Tim. And thanks, grandpa. Again, not the same person.

I’d love to connect and hear your thoughts. Follow me on X and Instagram.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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Jake: The best advice I ever got from my grandfather, echoed by Tim Tebow