| The optimist claims we live in the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist fears this is true. |
Recently Dorothy and I had the opportunity to have lunch with Charley and Preston from The Pay It Forward Experience and we all talked with a stranger about the current state of the real estate market and financial industry. This encounter firmly reminded Dorothy and I that what we’re promoting with The 51% Project can be quite challenging.
We’re asking that you consider making a change in your thought patterns; possibly a dramatic change, in fact. We believe this change will improve all of our lives.
Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist? Pessimism is probably not a description anyone wants to have attached to their persona, so we delude ourselves by saying that we are “realists”, or that we’re simply being honest about life. But, if we dwell on the negative stories in the morning news or regularly rush from the TV to the radio in our car, or computer for more input, we’re probably pretty pessimistic. If we begin thinking the worst and allow ourselves to incorporate all of the terrible things that might happen into our streaming thoughts, we’re setting ourselves up for great sadness and our life glass is half empty ... maybe even more than half empty.
Being aware of current events provides us with information that helps us make good choices, but fueling our minds with negativity by repeatedly listening to the same news stories as they are reworked throughout the day sets us up for defeat and pessimism. It doesn’t change the foreclosure rate, or help those who are threatened with it, nor does it stop the wars or calm Wall Street investors. But, there is something that will make change happen, and all of us can participate. It’s offering our time, expertise, and possibly some financial resources to help others make positive changes in their lives. And helping others has a tremendous side benefit ... it makes our own lives better.
If you have expertise in financial management with your business, or you efficiently manage your household budget, your time and energy can be donated to churches, synagogues, and community education classes to teach those skills to others who want and need to make changes in their lives. If you love to cook and you pride yourself on making healthy, budget conscious meals for your family, you can educate others about budgets and nutrition. If you’re skilled with commonly used computer programs, you can teach the basic skills and give the gift of computer literacy to others. You don’t need to be a certified educator, you just need to be willing to help. By doing so you’re paying it forward and making a difference in your community, and in your life.
Remember, neurons that fire together, wire together. Thinking positively just 1% more each day may not be easy at first. Like anything else, doing it well takes some practice, but if practiced regularly, it becomes automatic.
There are many people in this world who have made it their life’s mission to help us make positive change, I applaud and support them. Thanks to all of you!
Looking for the positive ... Susan
SUSAN: This week has been a lesson in moving through negativity without letting it affect me. I’ve spent more time around people who, in the past, I have allowed to drag me down their negative path. This week it was different, I was different, and I believe my change in attitude made them react to me differently.
Dorothy is having a well deserved New England adventure. Safe travels, I can’t wait to see the beautiful pictures!
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