By Steve Kingsley
Has been a time like what we have now, when you experienced a such a stressful situation? It happens to everybody - however not at the same time and all over the world - which tend to bring forth visions of ruining one’s health, life, family, community, even wealth.
Here is how I’ve approached our current lockdown, loss of freedom, and income. I recalled, as best I could the most traumatic event I’d faced, and thought about how I responded. It was in Italy in 1973, when I had to decide between freedom, with all of its risks, vs. going back to communist Hungary, with its cradle to grave political correctness and poverty. Watch “A Soviet Story” and you’ll see how this virus pandemic is not the end of the world, like it was for untold millions in the Soviet Union: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO6-nuk0UhA .
Did I get caught up in negativity or was I composed? (In my case the second, so I chose freedom.) Depending on your situation now, can you see how the worry and anxiety draws you into negativity? It’s natural to respond negatively when a condition spirals out of control, particularly when we least expect it. A tirade of negative thoughts emerge and we may find ourselves unable to handle them. I want to reassure you this is normal because of the mind’s inherent negativity bias. It is an evolutionary mechanism, which has made mankind attain the top spot in the food chain. (I come from the food industry, hence this expression comes handy.)
Each of us experience negative situations at some time. Regrettably, some people experience them more than others and get caught up in victimhood thinking. Perception is everything because what you look for, you will find. Thus, if your glasses are dark, you can perceive something as bad even in a good situation. On the other hand, you could find the good in a negative situation and use it to your advantage. What’s important is how we interpret what we see. Getting caught up in negativity is of little use because it won’t change the outcome. When I get upset, I am allowing external conditions to dictate my happiness.
According to one of my favorite persons, Maya Angelou:
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
Can you identify with this narrative in your own life? Has something similar happened where you could to solve your problems and it was of little help? What happened? Did you lose faith in your abilities or your will to be able to carry on? We have a choice and while it may not be the easiest one to make, it is the definitely the better choice for our peace of mind. Anger and negativity reinforces a despairing mindset because we feel transgression is perpetrated intentionally. Bad things happen to good people, making them to believe that life is unfair. (I’m not going to get into P.C. arguments here.)
Life is neither fair nor unfair; it beats on regardless of how much you try to change its nature. I don’t mean to say we are insignificant in the scheme of things. Rather, things are bound to happen, and it is not the event itself that fuels our suffering but our response. It dictates whether we remain at peace or get caught up in the storm. Are you comfortable with the idea that perceiving life as fair or unfair does little to help you through difficult times? The questions we ought to ask ourselves is: What am I called to learn about this situation? How can I evolve from what is taking place?
Following this line of thinking, you win every time you remain positive in any situation, regardless of our minds pulling us into despair given the chance. Negativity is only a stone’s throw away. Everyone will tell you how difficult life can be but rarely do we hear stories of life being filled with joy and happiness. Even comments on social media nowadays have become an outlet for moral outrage and social injustice. But this is not helping anyone, other than tossing us into hopelessness, as we are drawn into this fictitious sense of injustice in the world.
You are now given a chance to reinvent yourself. Stop listening to doom and gloom. Speak positively. Act lovingly. Work for a better future. That’s what we do at home and in my company.
Godspeed and best of luck,
Steve Kingsley
HIP Gastroplex * CannaMallows.com *
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