"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things"
I annoy people. Its not intentional. Its just they are often displeased by my intolerance of negative speaking, thinking or actions. Some despise my sunny disposition, especially my early morning riotousness, but Beloved, I refuse to be at the mercy of a bad mood EVER; not from myself and certainly not from anyone else. I've even had a client say to me " Cheryl, you and all your positive thinking crap is annoying. It works for you but not for me. I'm just a negative thinking person." I had to agree with them (they are genuinely sour with a low energy, poor disposition pretty much everyday I coach them). I offered them a solution and they take a hold of it occasionally (and always say how much better their day goes and how they feel:). This is a way of life that I do NOT deviate from much and its simple-- I memorized this scripture (Philippians 4:8) and choose to think on and let in my ears/eyes and out of my mouth only things that are right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Not everything meets this criteria and I can't avoid it, but as a rule of thumb if it doesn't fall in those categories I confront it or am silent to it and don't let it in!
I fight negativity like you would a cold...with prevention and cure. Nobody in their right mind wants a cold, yet we will sit under the most negative of things and allow it to infect us just the same as a cold would invade the body if you sit around a person with one. Want to know exactly how you put yourself at the mercy of a bad mood?
- We listen to it...if the music you consistently listen to is low life, bottom-feeding, degrading to women, uninspiring and just plain awful then you're taking that mindset in-- even if you think its just the beat you like, the lyrics are there feeding your mind. I frequently tune out the lyrics to most of the heavy beat music I run to but I do notice my aggression rises when I listen to it, which is why I like it for exercise. When I take the chance and listen to the lyrics I'm frequently shocked by what I hear. I then drop the most egregious songs from my playlist, choosing instead to go old school or choose a more inspirational tune. I just don't need the negative. Neither do you!
- We speak it...complaining, murmuring, rehearsing an incident blow by blow and then we regurgitate it ad nauseam, subjecting everyone who has hearing to hear it over and over and over... this type of communication is so draining both for the speaker and the listener! Men often accuse women of this level of communication because when emotional we do tend to over-communicate and men will under-communicate, causing conflict. Whether we like it or not, negative communication is the most infectious conduit for a bad mood! When I'm in a not so great mood I remind myself to stay silent. Its so much better than trying to take back what I say or affecting the people I love or work with.
- We see it...this one is the worst for me, I'm a very visual person! I can't even watch scary movies, they disturb my spirit to its core. But turning on the tv, picking up a magazine, getting on Facebook or other social media sites and our eyes behold a whole lotta negative. A very long time ago I determined to combat this I would set my eyes first thing on the word of God and on an uplifting positive image--right now at my desk I have a picture of Maya Angelou and quotes for my season in life right now (one is from Island Company and says Quit your job, Buy a ticket, Get a tan, Fall in love, Never return...another says "don't treat me any different than you would the queen" which reminds me I'm a queen and deserve to be treated well at all times).
- We're friends with it...as Grandma use to say "birds of a feather flock together" and as the bible teaches in Corinthians 15:33 "Don't be fooled by those who say such things, for "bad company corrupts good character." You attract that which you think you deserve and if you're akin to your bad mood and sour, negative disposition guess what? Those are the very people you will attract. Its a law of nature and true whether you acknowledge it or not. Show me who you hang out with and it'll show me you who you are. Dwelling and calling home a place with a negative, bitter person will invariably affect even the most positive thinking person. You can't abandon those you are married to or gave birth to (that wouldn't be right:) but you can not let their disposition invade yours. It takes a lot of work but it can be done. And tolerance of any outside negative influences if you live with negativity is just plain insult for injury. If you can choose...RUN don't walk away from negativity. If you have to live with it, fight letting it in with every fiber of your being-whatever you need to do, do it!
Beloved, you never have to be at the bitter mercy of a bad mood. If you would give it a try perhaps you can infuse positivity in your environment. Its true as true can be...if you change your thinking, you can change your life.
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