Is it human nature to complain? Or are we just evaluating our environment and offering an opinion on it?
Even before I had my coffee made last Friday morning, I had already formed and voiced an opinion on the rain that was pouring down.
Not that I should have been thinking negative thoughts about the rain, judging by how yellow my backyard grass is turning. It’s just that it was so darn cold to boot. I was seriously considering turning the furnace on. Even the cats looked cold.
This is July, for Pete’s sake (who the heck is Pete, anyway?).
But as quickly as I silently complained to myself about the weather, I thought: “It’s better than snow.”
What’s the difference between positive people and the ones who make you cringe when you hear them coming?
It’s attitude. And attitude is learned. It’s a conscious decision.
None of us are born with attitude: it just develops over time.
Positive people are a joy to be around. They’re the ones who always seem to be happy, laughing and helping out, regardless of what’s happening in their personal lives.
Then there are the rest of us who range somewhere between happy and optimistic much of the time and chronic unhappy pessimists.
The attitude we form will determine the shape of our lives and whether we reach our dreams or spend the rest of our lives miserably chasing our tails. It will also be what people remember us for.
You can’t accomplish anything by constantly complaining about it, although some people try. They can’t see beyond their own ego and the importance of their opinions.
But you can move mountains by believing that you can and by encouraging those around you to help move it. Belief in our own worth and trust in those around us banishes the fear and stress that lead to a dead end of negative habits.
Wendy Coomber is editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal