Positivitiness
Brad tells me I’m too negative. What he calls pessimism I call realism, which is my typical response to his usual reminder to think positive. Finally after more than three years of this, I decided to heed his advice and try to learn to be more positive. I didn’t know where else to start, so I checked out The Power of Positive Thinking from the library last week.
I started the book tonight, and after reading about two pages, which included things like “Believe in yourself!” and “Christ which strengtheneth me,” I turned to Brad and said, “I really don’t think I’m going to like this book.”
I’m not off to a very good start with this…
June 8th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Heh.. that reminds me of a Boston Legal episode where (uh.. spoiler?) Denny Crane (William Shatner) tried drawing Gina Gershon to him through the power of concentration and positive thought and ended up with Phyllis Diller instead.
That episode pretty much sums up my thoughts on that particular movement. I’m with you on being realistic.. even if we might come off sounding like Eeyore at times.
June 8th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Well, if you haven’t guessed yet, I’m all about being positive, although not to a point of being delusional. Life is so much more pleasant that way, I swear! And it brightens up the worlds of people around you!
Wait, was that too cheesey?
June 8th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
This reminds me of a recent conversation with a coworker who said I was judgmental. For me, I always considered it be realistic about life and situations. After a step back (because heaven knows I did NOT like being told that I was judgmental), I realized that what suits me doesn’t suit everyone. In essence, yeah, I was being judgmental. Damn!
I recently made a conscious choice to make a positive change in my attitude. Even my boss said in my yearly review that, even though she didn’t know what brought it on, she noticed it.
I hope you can find something that will offer you insight. Good luck in your journey.
June 8th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
i think i’m a little bit of a pessimist. i believe in good things, but often expect the worst, just in case. since my life has been changing so drastically, i have had totally eaten some of the happy cake, and i’m realizing that life really is so much better if you ignore those little niggling nervous nelly thoughts… i don’t think i’ll change completely, but i’m finding i can finally tap into those better thoughts. i often think i’m being realistic, too. realists unite!
June 9th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Your last line cracked me up. Oh, the irony. Wait that’s not exactly irony.
June 10th, 2008 at 6:17 am
It does feel better to be positive. Even if only on the outside.
I read Law of Attracton. Now, I am very concious of my negative thoughts.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:58 am
I made a New Year’s resolution a while back to stop (or reduce) my complaining. I’ve really tried hard (despite the many slip-ups and times when I’ve said, “Not that I’m complaining, but …”), and I’ve improved. I don’t think my actual *thinking* has really changed (meaning, I still have many negative/critical thoughts), but I do think I’m easier to be around now that I don’t articulate every complaint that pops into my head.
June 10th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Let me know how that goes! I’m also trying to be more positive. It’s tough though…
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