January 26, 2011

"DON'T BE AFRAID TO THINK DIFFERENTLY THAN THOSE WHO SURROUND YOU!"

Have you ever heard the saying, "You are what you eat"? How about this one, "You become the person from whom surrounds you"? I have to admit I enjoy watching television programs such as, Oprah and Dr. Phil. So many times on those shows, I have heard Oprah and Dr. Phil making comments that if you surround yourself with negative people, you will become negative, or if you surround yourself with positive people, you will become positive.

I beleive these statements to be true; however, do not take my word for it. Test your emotions when you surround  yourself with negative naysayers. How do you feel after you leave that group? I bet you feel drained of energy both emotionally and physically. We all know negative people, and sometimes it is hard to keep a distance from these people. For instance, my mother has always been negative. She will look for the worst case scenario in every situation. She is always waiting for the "bad things" to happen. For instance, last night my family and I had her over for my birthday dinner. The weather forecast was calling for snow, and my son made the comment that he wished we would get a blizzard. Well, my mother jumped in on that conversation with how a blizzard would be terrible because she lives alone, and WHAT IF something were to happen! How would someone get to her in time? I asked her what would happen. Her reply was, "Well, I don't know, but something bad might happen."

It is a sad life to live always expecting the worst. I have always from a little child thought diffently than my mother. I would look for ways of how I could do something instead of just casting the thought aside because naysayers would make comments like, "It will never work". Well, how do they know that your thoughts will never work when they never tried what it is you would like to accomplish. If I would have listened to my mother, I would  never have gone back to college for my Associate's Degree. According to her, I was too old. Who is she to say how old is too old to go back to college? I read a story about an 80 year-old grandma going back to college because she always wanted a college degree. That grandma didn't let naysayers ruin her chance of a college education. She thought differently, and she earned her degree!

Don't be afraid to think differently than the people who surround you! Don't be afraid to think outside the box! Don't let people talk you out of your goals because they were too afraid to take a risk and follow their own dreams. Surround yourself with positive people who edify you and who encourage you to become the best person you were meant to be. Think differently and become a better person!