Since this week has been about how our state of mind affects our lives, here's a little fable to round out the previous post:
A man goes to the village to visit the wise man, and he says to the wise man, "I feel like there are two dogs inside me. One dog is this positive, loving, kind, and gentle dog, and then I have this angry, mean-spirited, and negative dog, and they fight all the time. I don't know which is going to win." The wise man thinks for a moment and he says, "I know which is going to win. The one you feed the most, so feed the positive dog. (From The Energy Bus, by Jon Gordon)
The truth is, that to which we give most of our attention will grow. We are so conditioned to focus on our mistakes and on those areas where we are lacking, it's no wonder so many of us are feeling angry, inadequate, and dissatisfied. Focusing on what went right during the day seems counterintuitive, and when it comes to internal work, it's among the hardest switches to make. But it's one that produces some of the most amazing results in terms of well-being and, yes, happiness.
So what if for the next few days you focused on your strengths and forgot all about your so-called weaknesses? What if you chose to talk - and, most important, think - only about those things that are going well? Doesn't it make sense that those areas of your life are going to expand? Give it a shot, and let me know what happens.
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