I've been called a pessimist once or twice in my lifetime. I've been called a Debbie Downer. I've been called a killjoy. I've been called a terrible dancer. Unfortunately, these labels are true much of the time. It's an aspect of my character that I'm not very fond of. (Of course, that statement itself is a little bit of a downer. Sorry.)
Part of the problem, I have realized, is the way in which is perceive the various activities that I do throughout the day. It's a sad truth that, much of the time, I don't really like what I'm doing. It's almost like I wake up every day and immediately think, "Bleh, I have to do this and this and this, and I really don't want to." That's not a very positive way to live. It becomes difficult to get much enjoyment out of just about any activity.
My mistake in this attitude is that I tend to view the things I do as obligations. This automatically makes them less enjoyable for me, because I perceive them as something I have to do. I'll think, "I have to go work at the church all day, and then I have to take care of this chore, and then I have to do that." At times, even though I probably wouldn't say it out loud, I thinkm "Now I have to spend some time in the Bible and prayer." Even if it's something that I generally enjoy doing in itself, it becomes a burden when I think of it as an obligation.
A helpful shift in thinking is to begin seeing happenings in my life as opportunities instead of obligations. It's to look at a situation and focus on the good that can come out of it instead of my duty to get it done. Nearly every situation has a positive potential, with the exception of going to the dentist, unless I think about the opportunity I'll have to say curse words in my head.
Here's an example: For the most part, I'm not very eager to be someplace where I don't really know many people. I'm just not all that outgoing, and I always feel awkward and in the way. (Granted, the fact that I think of myself this way usually causes me to actually be that way. It's the whole self-fulfilling prophecy thing.) Because of my aversion to being on socially unfamiliar grounds, I normally dislike those situations and certainly don't look forward to them. However, if I simply change my perception from seeing such a situation as an obligation to seeing it as an opportunity, it becomes much more enjoyable. I can think of it as an opportunity to meet new people and make friends, and that's a good thing. After all, if you never make new friends, you'll end up all alone when your current friends die. And I certainly plan on outliving all my friends.
Such thinking even helps the most mundane tasks more enjoyable. This morning I got up and decided to mow our front lawn. Now, I'm not crazy about mowing. There are plenty of things most of us would rather do. It can be an obligatory chore that we always try to avoid. But, as I thought about it, I realized that mowing the grass gives me several opportunities. It's an opportunity to get some exercise. It's an opportunity to do something nice for my family. It's an opportunity to have some time to myself to think and reflect on some issues. It's an opportunity to figure out what I wanted to write in this post. Thus, all of a sudden, a burdensome chore like mowing the grass can become something to actually be excited about doing.
Go ahead and try it out. Start seeing everything you do as an opportunity for something good to happen. I think that every day is full of possibilities for something positive, but we often miss those possibilities because we're so focused on how we don't like what we're doing. When we do this, I think we can wake up each morning excited about what that day might hold instead of just looking forward to going back to bed that night.
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