My Daily Choice

I love the news. I read the newspaper every day. I try to watch the television news at 11 o’clock. I like to know what is happening in the world. When I worked in London, England, I was in paradise. The company I worked for subscribed to every newspaper available. I was able to get many viewpoints of the same story.

What I noticed (and still do) is that most of the news seems to be about what is wrong with the world. I read about floods, hurricanes, droughts, famine, war – the list goes on and on and on. It is easy to fall into a rut of fear for what is happening. There seems to be little I can do to change the world.

But it all comes down to one choice I can make daily.

In life, I have noticed that there are many examples of opposites. We have left and right hands. Light switches go on or off. The sun is up or down.

The one choice I can make daily is whether I am going to be positive or negative. I can choose to build people up or to tear them down. I can choose to make the world a better place or to make it worse. The choice is mine. What is more interesting is the affect that my choice has.

If I am negative, I usually feel down and unhappy. The people around me, at least, those who want to be around me, are also grumpy. If I give out positive energy, I generally feel happy. People like to be around me and I lift them up.

Now, I am not saying that I try to sugar-coat reality. There are times when I don’t like what is happening in my life. You are no different. That shouldn’t stop us from saying something nice about something or somebody.

I guess I look at it like this. The gears of life turn every day. I can choose to pour sand in them or oil. I can make the situation better or worse.

As an occasional teacher, I have observed this. If I catch the students doing something wrong, I know that I am usually in for a tough day. If I can catch them doing something right and praise them, it is most likely going to be smooth sailing.

So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to be somebody who is positive and known for building people up or are you going to be a negative person who tears people down? Quite often this is the difference in being happy or sad.