Popping into for a quick deep thought before I head to work. I will post a short disclaimer. I am a christian. I go to an awesome church and many of you have noticed the verse upon which I named my blog. So yes God will be in my posts but I warn you now, I am not one of those christians. The ones who judge you and shove things down your throat. God is love and that's what I am trying to be, love. So no worries and continue reading because todays thought applies to life in general!
Recently my church went on a fast of sorts, for 40 days we were to not complain or be negative. I will be the first to admit i failed miserably at this. I am usually the glass half full kind of girl but it just seemed like the world knew what was going on and was throwing everything at me so I would fail. At least that's how it seemed. I did attempt the fast, because when I failed I got right back up and continued on. Yes I beat myself up a bit. I tend to have this conscience that just won't let things go like that. I want to do things right, I wanted to succeed but beating myself up wasn't the way to do it. Yes it was harder than anything I had done, especially in a world that's really negative. I am sure we can all admit that the world has become a place of negativity and complaints. I fit into that as well, I am far from perfect. In fact one of the reasons I am posting this now is because of my negative attitude and the constant complaints coming out of my mouth.
I don't want to be negative, I truly don't. I enjoy being happy. I like to laugh and I really do like to compliment people. I know that seems strange but I know that sometimes all someone needs is something positive said about them. Something as simple as "that shirt looks good on you" or "I really like the way you did your hair." The simplest things can make a person's day and that's what I want to do, I want to give someone a reason to smile. I believe that is what God wants all of us to do, whether we believe in him or not. He wants us to lift each other up, not bring each other down. Now when someone says something negative or mean to you, at least for me, it's seriously difficult to muster anything nice to say at all. My first reaction is to say the first awful thing that comes to mind but I don't. Mainly because it happens at work, and I don't want to get in trouble. For those of you who don't know, I work at a gas station, I deal with all kinds of people on a daily basis, the bad and the good. Though at times it seems more bad than good, so i am constantly having to restrain myself from being mean. I feel really bad for thinking it later but I just have an aggressive personality, and a bit of a temper and when it gets triggered, I can't help but stew. Yes I don't spew my thoughts, I stew, i dwell, i don't always say what I am thinking but sometimes thinking is bad enough.
However the other day my youth pastor said something to me that really got me thinking. When we fail, we tend to let the guilt overcome us, and we want to give up. We failed, so why even bother trying again. (This has happened to me but usually when it comes to dieting. lol. but that's a different post for a different day). She told me that for every complaint i make, I need to say something positive. SO instead of feeling guilty for messing up, I just turn it around and say something positive. SO if I complained 3 times about a particular customer. I need to think of 3 positive things about that customer or anything else. I absolutely love this idea and lately it's been helpful. Like I mentioned before my attitude has been terrible and I have complained a lot, but yesterday I put this little seed of advice into action and it did brighten my attitude. Now applying it where I work will be a different story but I am making it my goal to try.
I went through this whole thing to say this. We need to lift each other up. We need to show kindness to one another. We truly do. I have seen what positive re-enforcement can do to a person and there is no better feeling than knowing you made someone's day, that you helped them in some way. So I have a challenge for you my readers!! Don't we just love challenges??? Today I want you to go about your day, and when you catch yourself complaining about whatever, stop, pause and then try and think of something positive. I know I will be trying with any particular customer that comes through my line. Now here is the kicker, if you fail...that's totally ok. We are human and we will fail but that isn't a bad thing. It just means that you are one step closer to success. When you fail, it means you attempted to do something, which means you attempted to stop yourself from being negative! That's a wonderful thing!!! You took a small step toward a more positive outlook and that is something to be proud of!! So go out and try it, don't complain, don't see the glass half empty, be mindful of your thoughts and words. Go be positive and help someone's day. You reap what you sow, it's true. But don't be that positive re-enforcement for the benefits that you will get. Do it for the other person, because you never know what they are going through!
If you do take up my challenge, drop me a comment and let me know how you did. Remember failure isn't necessarily a bad thing. Good luck with the challenge, I know I will need it and be blessed! God will help you out ;) I know he will!
Keep looking up, you are more mindful of your thoughts now, which is a step in the right direction. I didn't do so hot myself but today is a new day and you know what that means? It means we get to try again and gain a little bit more success. So keep pressing on, you are doing great! Remember we aren't beating ourselves up!
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