Or a Debbie Downer for that matter. Upset Umberto? I’ll stop now…
I’ve noticed that people love throwing themselves pity parties. What makes you feel better about someone cutting you off on the freeway? Telling your friend about how someone cut you off on the freeway. We just want to hear how wronged we were, and it makes us feel better. Failed on a test? Tell your friend or classmate how hard you studied and the teacher is just ridiculous/stupid for putting hard questions on the test. Tests are meant to be hard. If they were easy, we’d just call them surveys.
There are times when we need consultation. Say a family member passes away, or you break up with your significant other, or you fail out of college. Or maybe if you make it all the way through Street Fighter 2: Tournament Edition and you can’t beat freaking M. Bison because the computer is freaking cheating. You’re doing everything right, and you are seriously hitting him more times than he is hitting you, but his hits are so much stronger. 6 hits and you die? How STUPID!!! Sometimes you need a hug after that.
Ok, maybe that last one doesn’t qualify. But for the most part, I think we tend to focus on a lot of negative stuff. Think about all the times during the day when you only think about the negative. *Crap, I have to wake up and I don’t want to. Dangit, I have to go to class/work all day today. Sucky, I’ve only been in class for 20 minutes and there’s 60 minutes left. Poop, it’s only 12 and I have to be here until 6. O man, I have to go pick up milk and gas up and I don’t want to. I ate that brownie and don’t want to work out. Man, I have to go to sleep already and go through my crappy day all over again.*
That was a bit much. I apologize. However, I wanted to get a point across and I think I did. We just use “don’t” and “can’t” and “shouldn’t” and all these other kind of negative conjunctions that have become a part of our everyday vocabulary. We think, “Dang, I really want that (object) but I CAN’T have it.” We should think, “how can I get that?” Brainstorm positively. Don’t just throw out an idea because your initial thought is “can’t.”
I noticed that, sometimes, people clock-watch to the point where it ruins their experience. Say you’re hanging out with a friend and you have to leave at 6, and it’s already 5. Some people will think so much about how they their time is almost up to the point where it ruins that hour, and potentially the whole day. They should be grateful for the time spent with that person.
Think about a time that you had a great experience and think about how many people you would tell about that experience. Now think about a bad experience and think about how many people you told about it. Chances are, the bad out-shines the good.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is think positively. Try to eliminate all of those negative words out of your head and vocabulary and see if it makes a difference. Don’t think about how much time is left at work on in class. Think about how much of the class you’ve gotten through.
One more thing a lot of people worry about is their future. I think it’s important to think about the future, but some people are obsessed over it and how they will make it. But some of those people think about their future so much that it ruins their present. Enjoy what’s happening and don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet. Opportunities will present themselves. I’m not saying be lazy though. If you need to make an opportunity, then go and make it. But don’t worry about the outcome too much. Didn’t get into the school you wanted to? Didn’t get that job you interviewed for? O well, nothing you can do about it now. Just accept it wasn’t meant to be and move on. Something else will open up. Life is full of surprises and turns you didn’t think you would take, but if you take them with a positive mindset, I think positive things will happen.
I don’t want to sound like one of those guys that say…”If you think it will happen, then it will happen.” I can’t just think I will have money in my hand and then money will magically appear. I can’t just mentally think I’m going to get a raise and then not work for it. That’s just poor thinking. That’s knowing the “what,” but not going through with the “how.”
Enjoy all of the positive things that happen. Try to push out those ” -‘t ” words and think positively. Don’t dread the work day. Embrace it. Carpe Diem or whatever. Don’t worry about things too much. Think about situations, but not in a negative light. Torn between 2 decisions and you can’t pick one because they both look like good options? Just pick the one you think is the best for you and don’t regret it. Regretting will ruin the choice you made. Accept the decision you have made and make the best out of it.
“Don’t worry, be Happy.” These words were made into a song by Bobby McFerrin, a musical genius, who’s song was the only a cappella song to reach number 1 on the Billboard 100. (Thanks, Wikipedia)
Thanks for reading…
Note to self…….
Practice what you preach.
– The Preacher
