Color Your Life Happy

As I stepped out of my front door for my morning walk, another walker passed by and commented, “It’s really sticky out here today.”

I find it amazing that a stranger seems comfortable opening a conversation with a negative rather than with a positive comment like ”Isn’t this a beautiful day?”

Why this is true I’m not sure.  

But I am sure that the doom and gloom over high gas prices, the downturn in the economic, foreclosures, etc. picks up volume around the water cooler, gas pump and wherever people gather.  We jump into the negative fray commiserating over this or that as if to confirm that we’re part of this miserable club.

If this attention to all the negative brought about positive changes I would recommend it. On the contrary, wallowing in the doom and gloom has some dangerous outcomes.

1. It distracts from many other important things that are going on in the world like world hunger, disease, mankind’s inhumanity to man.  It’s a common magic technique to keep you busy looking in one direction while they set up the trick in the other.
2. It blinds us to the positive possibilities. Even people who are blessed with wonderful opportunities around them miss seeing them when they are griping.
3. It saps our energy so we are less able to think of creative solutions.
   The negative energy spent talking up all that is wrong lowers our energy level thus making us less able to engage our brains in a positive way.
4. It fuels individual and group hopelessness. Even those of us were are normally hopeful can become infected and be brought down if we give this virus access to us.
5. It promotes the wrong idea that we have no choices or control over our lives.
   In any compeition, game or war the other side counts on this to help them win.

Instead of getting caught up in the woe-is-me trap, check out what Pamela Slim, in her blog Escape from Cubicle Nation , offers as some great ways that businesses can turn that energy to positive moves. In my comment on her blog I added information about what this means to us personally as well.

I learned about Pamela’s blog from Jonathan Field’s post, Every Minute Spent Complaining is a Minute Lost Solving

Chime in with your opinion on complaining.

While I’m busy with my happiness projects my youngest daughter, Adrienne, is busy encouraging me to be healthier. It’s not that I am a total food slob. As a matter of fact, I grew up on very healthy diet since my mom was from the South. I’m discovering, however. .

My food choices and cooking habits from childhood need reworking.

• The vegetables we ate were overcooked thus rendering them less nutritious.
• I don’t ever remember my mom using the word “cholesterol.”
• Eating everything on your plate seemed like good advice at one time.
• You can’t make a sandwich without bread.

If you want to work at improving your food choices and eating habits, check out this site that my daughter forwarded to me. http://whfoods.org/