Negativity Breeds Negativity

I saw a bumper sticker on a car when I was leaving the gym yesterday that said B+. I thought to myself: "That is weird. Why would they have their blood type on a bumper sticker?" and then I put two and two together... B+ = BE POSITIVE! Oh how right they are too!

There is the age old saying "do you see the cup half empty or half full?". This week I was teaching my first graders about halves and wholes and one of the examples was a cup that was half full with a question: "is a cup that is half full equal to a cup that is half empty" and almost all of them said that the cup that was half full was MORE than the cup that was half empty. They were wrong in real life of course, but figuratively speaking I think they were right. I mean, think about it. If you see your cup as half full, your life is fuller. You are a more positive person. You see things for what you hope they become. If you see the cup as half empty, you aren't reaching for what you want your life to become. You are sitting there in your "woe is me" world, hoping that someone gives you a break on something. Well, here's the thing: You have to make your OWN breaks in life, not sit around waiting for someone to hand you something because they feel sorry for you! (Of course this isn't saying that every single person in the world who see's the cup half empty is a negative person, or sees the cup half full is a positive person.)

You make your own life. I know someone who is a chronic downer. Every single facebook post I see of hers is negative. Every time I am around her she whines and complains about how hard her life is. I don't know how she LIVES with herself! But the thing is, she isn't living. She is sitting around waiting for someone to hand her something. For someone to MOTIVATE her! But you know what? No one will. No one will motivate her enough for her life to change. No one will say "I feel sorry for you, here is $1000 to cheer you up because you complained about money to me." Sorry. Life doesn't work that way. YOU have to go out and make YOUR life positive. No one can ever motivate you enough to change your life.

I realized that on my own. I was sitting around waiting to get motivated. I would go to the gym, but not regularly enough. I would see things that need to be done and think "I'll get to them, but not now. I'm not motivated.". Well, that isn't cutting it ANYMORE. Guess what: motivation and a positive attitude doesn't just knock on the door. doesn't knock on the door. I am now pushing my butt because I HAVE TO! NO ONE is going to do it for me. I have to much working against me with my family genetics to let myself fail because I didn't push myself hard enough when I was young enough to work it into my routine. Yes, others can motivate me. Yes, I may be able to motivate YOU, but in the end it is the individual person who needs to motivate themselves to get moving on changing their life. No, it won't always be easy, but I have to do it. I have to do it for myself. I have to do it for my husband. I have to do it for my future children.

So how do you see your cup? Half empty or half full? I know how I see mine... B +