“Between stimulus and response, there
is a space. In that space lies your ability to choose your response. And in
that response lies your freedom.”—Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
Experts in
many fields agree that our circumstances shouldn’t be allowed to determine our attitude.
We always have the freedom to choose our reaction to any given situation. The
imprisoned Viktor Frankl chose not to let the Nazis take away his last freedom:
the power to choose his own thoughts. Let’s look at some techniques for staying
optimistic:
*Move Beyond the Negativity Loop
Positive feelings create positive
manifestations, and negative feelings create negative ones. The latest teaching is that even overwhelmingly
pessimistic people can re-evaluate their way of thinking. The selfimprovementgenie.com
suggests the following:
When
something bad happens to you in your life, turn things around by thinking about
all the positive reasons this may be happening to you. When you do…
You’ll
re-educate the way your brain works and you will start attracting positive people,
more money, weight loss and health into your life!
And…
You’ll know
that it all started with the way you think!
**Trust the Process
Life gives
us many chances for ending and beginnings, winters and springs. Endings aren’t
easy, but they give us the chance to re-evaluate, re-group, and re-organize,
which are crucial activities. Also, new beginnings often give us a step up to a
higher plane than expected. Here is an illustration from my own yard:
For about
seven years, I’ve had a perennial flower bush. It goes dormant in the winter
and blooms, sort of, during the warmer months. I really gave up expecting much.
Some years, I would see small buds pop
up. Other years, I saw teeny white flowers—if I got down on eye level with
them.
The plant
wasn’t really growing taller. I’m not knowledgeable about gardening, and I
often end up killing plants. I assumed this bush was just another in a
long line of failed attempts.
Imagine my
surprise when, for the first time, I recently spotted 3” white flowers on the shrub.
I didn’t do any extra work for it. I didn’t anticipate it. I just trusted the
plant to do what it was supposed to do, knowing I couldn’t influence it one way
or another.
***Identify the Root of Most
Pessimism
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”—John 10:10
(NIV)
**************
“…He was a murderer from the
beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him…”—John 8:44 (NIV)
************
“For a great door and effectual is
opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.”—1 Corinthians 16:9 (KJV)
My Conclusion
Never give
up hope! Victories may take longer than expected. We may feel hedged in by dark
forces. Negativity may seem natural to us. As Joyce Meyer says, “You will come
out on the other side. If you don’t come out the way you want, you’ll come out
better.”
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