I am Having a Good Day. It’s My Choice.

Every day we get up, we are unsure about how the day will unfold, unsure how we will face the day, and unsure how we will feel as the day wears on. Although we may be uncertain about what may be around the corner, one thing we can control is our attitude and emotions about what we face around the corner. The adage ‘attitude is everything’ is something I think about whenever I am feeling cranky, feeling put out for whatever reason, and feeling unmoored. A book that talks about this idea of attitude is “Mindset” by Carol Dweck. The main gist of the book is that our mindset can determine more of our life than we may realize. Yes, our intellect and talents are innate, although that is not to say one shouldn’t constantly strive to better those innate abilities to their fullest, but mindset is something we can control entirely. There are plenty of old sayings like ‘the glass is half full’, ‘rose tinted glasses’, that speak to this idea of how much our attitude can change our experience of whatever obstacle is in front of us and life.

Although I suffer from general anxiety, which is internal unlike being stressed, which is about the external, I am a fairly positive person. That is not say that there aren’t days when I just don’t feel myself and I feel as if the entire day has been one long slug fest. But, generally speaking, I try to wake up each day with the belief that I will have a good day, regardless of the many and big setbacks that I may face. The most important part of this mantra is understanding how much control we have in terms of our reactions, knowing that setbacks are just an everyday occurrence of life for EVERYONE. If someone can disprove this by finding an individual who has not faced a setback or setbacks, please let us know the identity of such a remarkable human. 

Sometimes for me, the clarity of understanding how one’s mindset can impact life is when I encounter someone who clearly sees the world through a glass half empty, if not an empty glass entirely. Recently I had to deal with someone whose negativity turned, what should have been a healing experience for all those involved, into one where all of us felt hurt and bruised because  she/he feels as if life has been unkind and unfair to her. The irony is that her belief has made her an unkind and unfair person when she is dealing with the world at large. I am fairly certain she/he gets up each morning and does not make the choice to have a good day. Likely, she/he gets up armed for battle even if no war is on the horizon. 

As you face each day, you have a choice, something I hope compels you to decide that today will be a good one regardless…