“People ask me how I stay so positive after losing my legs … I simply ask them how they stay so negative with theirs.” (Ssgt Johnny “Joey” Jones)
There is a story of a monk who was allowed to say only two words every three years.
After the first three years, he met with his order’s Brother Superior and said, “Uncomfortable bed!”
3 years later, he came back to say, “Bad food!”
After 3 more years of silence, the monk said, “No TV!”
Another 3 years passed. This time, when the monk met with Brother Superior, he handed him his robes and sandals and announced, “I quit!”
Brother Superior said, “Well don’t expect me to try to dissuade you. You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here!”
None of us probably think that we are negative but what would the people we are around the most say about us? If they hear us being mostly negative, then that is what they will probably think of us.
Unfortunately, our negativity can rub off on others, as well. Sometimes our complaining about our boss, the way things are done, our politicians, or the things we can’t control is very contagious.
But on the flip side, if we are positive and encouraging, that too can rub off on others. Remember that the happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything and every situation. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
We get to choose each day and each moment whether we will be positive or negative. Will we be like the monk that always seems to be negative about something or will we be the person that is always finding solutions and making the best of a situation?