Monday, June 1, 2009

In Search of...some positive thinking

I was watching Joel Osteen last night for a few minutes. Yes, it's surprising to many that I watch a TV preacher at all, but it's true nevertheless. Sometimes I just need to have someone remind me that there's an unseen power working for me and not against me if I would allow it. People call that unseen power a variety of things, but for most of us that unseen energy source is simply referred to as God. Sometimes it's refreshing to hear that negativity, pessimism and victimhood are not our natural state and that there's an alternative to it that requires a little effort on our part. Sometimes it's a breath of fresh air to hear that our futures may contain more goodness than we could possibly imagine if we would believe in the possibility of that.

Maybe it's challenging to start off Monday morning with these big yet simple ideas, but I don't want last week to be the same as this week. I want it to be better. And there's a way for that to happen that requires something of me, something different than I did last week. First it will require me allowing for the possibility that this week can be better than last week. Second it will require me thinking differently as I go about my day, and acting differently in terms of what I choose to do. There's that great definition of insanity that goes something like - insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So I figure if I do something, anything differently, then I'm going to get a different result.

This may all sound like fluff to you, my trusty blog readers, but I challenge you to think, see, and speak only positively and see how tough it is to do in our current world. You cannot turn on the news or read a paper and come away positive. Even TV shows and movies are built on the drama of calamity of one sort or another. We live in a society that's hellbent on reveling in how bad things are. So I think it's holding onto what is good, and hopeful, and positive that presents the real challenge, and it is a challenge that we are thirsting for.

So let's do it. Let's start by focusing on five things we're grateful for and see what the simple shift to gratitude does for us. Then, throughout the day, let's be mindful of what thoughts we're thinking and what we're saying. This may take some doing because our attitudes and choice of words are as much habit as anything else, but I'm determined to do it nevertheless.

We'll see how the week progresses. Let me know how yours does too and if this makes a difference. Maybe we'll start a trend.

Have a positive, great day. Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.

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