Positivity

What is the key to being a motivated person who is both positive and productive?

An older fellow who drove log truck used to deliver a load of logs to our mill every day. He quietly and efficiently did his job and always had a congenial attitude. One day I asked how old he was. “Seventy-two years-old.” He replied. “Every day is a good day. I’ve hauled logs for forty-four years and every morning I am ready to go. I love what I do.”

A decade later, I was buying logs from a logger who initially appeared honest and productive. He was honest as long as he thought it was to his advantage. It became evident no one worked for him longer than a year and most people avoided all contact with him. I was tangled in a complicated, obscure word-of-mouth deal with him, which in retrospect was a bad idea. Eventually, the relationship dissolved into silence and accusations. I was looking for an honorable exit. Finally, I severed the deal and did not hear from him again for years. This man left a trail of tears wherever he went. It was never his fault. He prided himself in cutting off anyone he did not trust, offering no second chances. The result? Few people outside his band of thieves trusted him.

A lot of success in being a positive person lies in the realization that attitude and outlook is completely in his control. As long as I think my circumstances and adversities control my happiness, they will. Jesus said, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” ( Jn 14:27 NLT)

There is a way to be positive in all situations: A choice, followed by another choice to keep going. The options are “keep going” or “quit.” As long as we keep trying we might succeed, but giving up forfeits winning. Tap into the spiritual power of Jesus and keep your head down.

Often this seems too simple and phony. It can be, but my decision to press on and make the best of things will produce a better state of mind than sinking into hopelessness and despair. Soon my attitude is genuinely better; evidence of spiritual reality behind this facade!

The worst situations and happenings are often the best opportunity we have to experience epiphanies and swerve toward the light. Every catastrophe opens the possibility of radical success.

Sometimes we are not actually in despair, but there is just a feeling of heaviness. A gloom clouds our mind and lives. This feeling of resignation is especially damaging because it produces apathy and acceptance of a tepid existence. Progress is an elusive impossibility. A low-grade unhappiness that does not give way to a general collapse is unfortunately the normal state for a large percentage of people. This is tragedy.

All of us know those who are happy and positive most of the time. How did they get there? Recall how uplifting it is to be around these individuals. All they do is show up and the general mood lifts. Conversely, all of us know the self-centered whiners that draw down the energy into their vacuum of negativity.

It is difficult to be upbeat and have an open, positive attitude in a stressful, zero-sum relationship. How can we act in a cheerful way when we don’t even want to see the person and it is hard to appreciate anything about them? This is the time when it is most important to decide to be generous and normal, even when it is a lot easier to criticize, be nasty, or simply ignore them.

We need to decide what we want. Do we want this relationship to grow or not? A bad relationship is a dead weight to productivity and happiness and will drain the living water of life. The most powerful thing we can do is to be charitable and forgive. Honesty says, “Who am I to imagine myself better than him?”

An attitude of forgiveness and refusing to hold a grudge is the key to those who are always happy and have such an uplifting effect on everyone around them! They have learned to let go and keep going.

I have been battling a health issue for the past six months. Many doctor visits and three surgeries later, I am still recovering. Part of getting old, I guess. This is a new experience and an opportunity to practice what I preach. By nature, I am a positive person and do not get depressed easily, but this winter I struggled to achieve equilibrium. When I finally got an appointment with a specialist who seemed to know exactly what to do, the relief that briefly overwhelmed me in the parking lot showed the strain and worry I was suppressing. You would think some life lessons would emerge, but so far I am waiting on inspiration and just trying to survive. I guess I need to press on! Friends and family are extremely valuable, especially positive ones. As iron sharpeneth Iron…