It seems that everywhere I turn, I hear complaining – especially
from the media. Did you know that complaining is really about projecting
failure? Complaining doesn’t get us anywhere. In fact, it is counterproductive.
Ever notice that when one person complains about someone or something, it opens
the door for everyone to complain?
Encouragement, on the other hand, shifts the depth of one’s
belief and allows you to not get “stuck in someone else’s mud.”
How does one turn a complaint into something to be thankful for?
Recently, I went to a birthday party. It was a “big milestone”
birthday, and preparations were in the works for weeks. The ladies purchased
outfits with a glorious sunset and perfect temperatures in mind. Well, the only
trouble was, it was February, and you can’t control the weather in February.
The birthday day arrived, and it was non stop rain --all day and into the
evening. There was no sunset. No breeze. It was raining cats and dogs.
To my relief, the host did not cancel the party. When I arrived
at the restaurant, I ducked into the bathroom to dry off, only to find several
other like-minded women. I I wonder if you can imagine the din of complaints.
“I’m soaked through!” “My shoes are absolutely ruined!” “What a terrible day
for a party!” I didn’t know these women, and I wasn’t even sure if they were
there for the party, but I started to hand out paper towels from the dispenser.
I complimented all of them on how gorgeous they looked with words of
encouragement about the location and the fabulous dining experience we were
going to have. I reminded them of the beauty of the rain after such a
long drought. What did I do? I invited happy. And as we whisked
away raindrops and make-up was reapplied, the mood changed. Mindsets shifted.
We all started smiling and laughing.
There is a bigger reason for what we do every day. And
this birthday was about something bigger than a pair of soggy shoes!
Encouraging others to be thankful and to think positive is
contagious.
You
can always choose if you want to be positive or negative. I always chose
positive.
