Grateful for can be a pattern. The human brain focuses on problems. Abnormalities, broken patterns, it’s a built-in system, it’s a mechanism that has allowed us to become the most successful species that we can imagine. You could call this the nature side of the brain, the animal, the pre-loaded functions, a pattern. Or you can call it a tool, and this is helpful. But what happens when the tool drives you? What happens is that you succumb to negativity and this negativity is not attractive.
Not Good Enough
Things become not good enough, “This was cold.” “That’s not good policy.” “That was poor service.” “It’s not what I envisioned.” All of these sorts of terms. And it’s not a good look. It’s hard to be around and it’s a downer as the hippies used to say. Being a Pollyanna a person with the irrepressible optimism in seeing the good in everything, well, it’s not very realistic. I have to say that I kind of find it annoying, having a cheerleader in the room just, “Yea guys!” “Hey gals,” “You can do it, come on put your muscle to it.” No thanks. But in the back of your mind, there is a place for that cheerleader to be a resident.
And it sounds odd having just dismissed the entire idea of a cheerleader but balance is the key. We naturally orient towards the negative. It’s with clenched teeth that I say we need a little more cheerleader in our lives.
Orientation and Viewpoint
It’s about orientation and viewpoint. The negative is a difficult thing to be around, the effusive cheerleader it’s pretty annoying. So how do we break this dichotomy? Well, it appears difficult but it’s not. It’s based in gratitude. Yeah, the simple act of gratitude, and there is always something for which to be grateful. If you can’t find something for which to grateful, you’re not looking well.
Here Is What You Can Do
Here’s a little drill. All you need do is take the next few minutes and be grateful for what is around you. You can insert the air conditioning; you can insert the running water. The simplest things. And your perspective, your world will shift. Other changes will happen in the moments and minutes as you practice a simple act of gratitude and acknowledgment.
You become better at it the more you practice. It will become institutionalized in your thought process. It will begin to color your world, and the change you experience will be for the better.
Step Out Of The Dual Choice
To recap don’t be engaged in the negative don’t be engaged in the overtly positive but strike the balance and not a 50% mark but sidestep the dichotomy. Sidestep this loop of either-or, and shift into gratitude to watch the color of your world change.
Practicing gratitude can be a game-changer: How to Practice Gratitude
A Native American story about the choices you make: Cherokee Story
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