Positive Day in the Bloggosphere
Posted: Friday, July 31, 2009 by Travis Cody in
Positive Day comes from the mind of a terrific 12 year old. She's Diva Daughter, the daughter of my blog pal Jennifer at Dust Bunny Hostage. The idea is explained in this post.
Positive thoughts lead to positive actions, which lead to positive results. Sometimes we can trace a clear path from the thought to the action to the result. Other times, there can be so much time between them that we're unable to find the connections.
But make no mistake, consistent positive results don't happen by accident. It takes planning, which takes careful consideration. And then we must act on the plan. And then sometimes we must be patient. We really do make our own luck.
Of course, we don't always get exactly what we want. And some would say that falling short of what we want is a negative result. I disagree. Falling short of a goal requires re-evaluation. What caused the short fall? Was the plan clearly defined? How many of the steps were checked off? Were any steps skipped? Were any steps unrealistic? Was the goal unrealistic? Was an intermediate goal attained, and could this be the jump off to a redefined new goal and a new plan?
These are all questions that make us think critically. And as we think critically, we uncover truths about the goal and the desire to reach it. And we uncover truths about ourselves. This is a good thing...a positive thing...because from this kind of critical thinking comes insight.
We should never be afraid of insight into ourselves and the world around us. I think this is how we take control and gain power over our own lives. And I think it's how we learn that the majority of people with whom we come in contact are after many of the same things we are. They don't necessarily want to take our things from us, nor do they need to. They simply want to find their things, their comforts, their wants, and their desires.
These things are not mutually exclusive...me from you, you from me, us from them. We can be an Us in this way, rather than some of Us and a lot more of Them.
That's why I was pleased to hear that Diva Daughter had come up with the idea of Positive Day. She took exception to someone telling her why she shouldn't like something. She wanted to decide for herself what she liked.
See, none of us can say what's good or bad for anyone else. Experts can try to tell us, but we're still allowed to make up our minds whether we like something or not. And it's ok not to like something that the majority likes. It is not ok for the majority to tell us we shouldn't like what they don't like, or like what they like when we don't.
We can all like what we like, and dislike what we like, without running the thing down or disparaging the people who think differently than we. When we explain why we like or don't like something, it's about individual taste.
How can anyone say that an individual taste is wrong or bad? Individual tastes aren't subject to majority or minority rule. You can say you don't like Harry Potter, but you can't tell me it isn't any good...I like Harry Potter!
So what are my positive thoughts for today?
- Traffic does not have power over my attitude
- The heatwave does not have power over my attitude
- Those determined to focus on the idea that differences of thought or opinion are bad will not have power over my attitude
- Those determined to tell me I'm wrong simply because we disagree will not have power over my attitude
- I will recognize and accept my prejudices, and they will not have power over my attitude toward those with whom I interact
I only need one positive action, and that is to be open-minded in all things at all times.
Thank you Diva Daughter. If I'm still around in 2032, I'll give serious consideration to your ideas to take this country forward as its President. And you know what young lady? I think someone is going to beat you to the title First Woman President of the United States.
How's that for positive?
Jennifer, your girl is a keeper.
![](https://resources.blogblog.com/img/blank.gif "Vinny "Bond" Marini"){kind=spacer}
Excellent Post Trav. Very positive and upbeat. What you say is so right. Happy Positive Day July 31, 2009 :) Aloha