A Glass of California

Today was a great day here in California.  It was productive as well as warm, sunny and simply glowing with joy. Just like the weather can affect our environment, our thoughts play a big role as to what kind day we are going to have.  It's like a forecast.  If we have negative thoughts, there's a chance of showers or even a thunder storm headed our way in our minds.  By contrast, if we have positive thoughts, we will have nothing but sunshine in our heart and everything will seem to go our way.

While being "happy go lucky" seems to be a widely accepted concept, it is still not commonly practiced.  If it were, ideally we would have no war, poverty or any extensive suffering.  The truth is many of us have received negative programming from our friends, family, the media and society at large.  It can certainly be argued that our loved ones do not intend to feed us such bad thoughts and feelings.  However, the evidence of poor psychology exists in the world we live in, as the adverse effects reveal itself in the form of violence, greed, jealously, anger, sadness, etc.  Of course, there are moments of positivity, as we see kindness and good deeds all around us, but for the most part, the majority are living in their own personal state of inner conflict and unhappiness.

Why am I bringing this up?  It's because I fell into negativity and self-pity many times.  Somehow, I was programmed to be unhappy, not knowing my true self worth.  Perhaps not everyone is wired this way. However, it is an issue that we are starting to face as a whole through education (books like "The Secret", "Think and Grow Rich" and "As a Man Thinketh" are becoming more popularized).  There are times when I catch myself being negative.  It's been embedded so deep in my subconscious that I was no longer aware of it until recently!

Today was a great example.  Even though the sun was out and the weather was nice, I almost had a mental thunderstorm!  While presenting my business to a friend, who happens to be a fellow rotarian and  chamber member, I started to think that I was wasting his time by trying to "sell him" health products.  At one point in my discussion, I went into "autopilot", meaning because I did the presentation so much, I simply spoke without thinking (much like when you are driving somewhere).  I mentally checked out, because in my mind, I didn't want to face what seemed to be inevitable: rejection.

After I was done, he liked what I was sharing and decided to purchase a month's supply advanced probiotics.  Now, I'm used to selling at much higher volumes, so my first reaction in my mind was negative.  But I managed to step out of my mental cloud that was about to storm and say to myself, "First of all, at least he bought something.  Second of all, he has a great network within the community.  If he likes his results, he will not only purchase more products, but will also refer many people that trust him in the area.  He might even do the business with you later on down the road.".

So I was able to avoid having a bad day.  It doesn't matter if there is unfavorable weather of any kind, having a good day or bad day is all up to us.  We need to educate ourselves on emotional intelligence and find ways to find the good or at least learning lessons in each and every situation.  Let's take that responsibility.  It's not only for ourselves, but also everyone we come in contact with.  We can truly make the world a better place if we check ourselves.

Life is full of obstacles.  According to Napoleon Hill, author of "Think and Grow Rich", every misfortune comes with it a seed of opportunity. Let's plant these seeds in the soil of our mind, and allow them to grow into something beautiful so we can share it with others.  Remember, next time our glass is at that halfway point, we should make sure to focus on it being half full, not half empty, so that we can savor things we're grateful for to the last drop!