12/8/24-Negative Energy

I was talking to my Mom yesterday and she said she's "Done with negativity."  That got me thinking about how hard it is to be negative.  My Mom is the inspiration for this post.  So if it's bad its her fault.

Before I got sick I think I was a pretty negative person.  It was almost a joke how people would always come to me expecting cynicism on any situation.  I was always looking toward the bad that can come out of an event.  Sarcastically, I lived my life under the premise that if you expect the worst to happen you can never be let down.

And that included the way I viewed people as well.  I would always look to them expecting to be disappointed by their actions or their abilities.  I assumed they would live their life selfishly, always looking for the easy way out for their benefit.

Living with that attitude was hard.  It left me with a bad taste for the world itself and especially the people in it.  I used to justify my attitude as bring a realistic view of the world, but it was really just a pessimistic outlook on society.

When I got sick I realized that I only had so much energy to give, and I was wasting it on being so gloomy about everything and everyone.  It was much easier to try to live life looking for the good rather than the bad.

Now, when I look to a situation rather than trying to figure out ways it will fail, I am trying to work out how to make it work.  I am trying to look for ways to make a condition better.

The biggest difference in my attitude is towards people.  When we opened the hospital 7 years ago one of our mottos was "Assume good intentions."  Rather than looking at every thing someone does, even if it turs out bad, as a potential failure, the idea was that assume everyone does things to try to make things better.  We should appreciate their efforts in trying.  Celebrating their efforts not only leads to them trying again, but also leads them more open to ideas on how to improve.  At the time I thought it was kinda a corny statement, but it has stuck with me all these years later, so I guess its not.

The other thing that has changed is my effort to use gratitude towards others.  I think that finding the good in people and thanking them for it can only make relationships better and easier.  I am trying to go out of my way to appreciate people and thanking them for their efforts.

I used to say, sarcastically, "I hate all people equally."  That was a stupid way to live, even as a joke.

I am finding it much easier to use my energy towards positivity.  And I think the world would be a better place if we all used a little bit of positive energy and let the negativity go sometimes.

I'm still here if you need your dose of sarcasm or cynicism, but I am also here if you need a little bit of a pick me up or just a thank you.