We know that Productivity and Taking Action are two leaves from the same book, but Positivity and Taking Action is the symbiotic relationship that we are going to have to embrace going forward into 2011. One of my clients recently asked me “How do we stay positive with so much negativity and uncertainty surrounding us and the country on the brink of ruin?
The answer to the question is a simple one of choice, and believe it or not you get to choose!
Unfortunately we cannot control what is happening with our economy at present, but what we can control is our reactions to the events that occur. We can choose to spend the next few years being negatively affected by what is happening and being disappointed and angered by decisions the government, the IMF or the European community make on our behalf. But the Philosopher Seneca said that people who got angry were in someway naive, he said anger comes from being too optimistic about the world and to avoid anger we must become more pessimistic and expect the worst. This philosophy may appear to conflict with the notion of staying positive but in fact he does have a valid point if we relate it to the circumstance we currently find ourselves in in Ireland. The cards have been laid on the table, we know the country is in a mess but we also know that worse is still to come, so what can we do?
We can continue to be disappointed and angry by matters that are somewhat inevitable and are very likely to occur, or we can accept that we don’t have any real influence over the external environment. Unless you are an active participant in the Politics of Ireland or intend to get involved, our only choice is to accept the current situation and not let it bother our internal happiness. If we want to stay positive whilst the storm rages outside each one of us must focus on creating more positivity and happiness in our own lives.
Mother Theresa once said “Let everyone sweep in front of his or her door and the whole world will be clean”. So we must all pick up our sweeping brushes and take action. Ghandi said it well when he said “Be the change you want to see in this world. So if you want to see more joy and positivity in 2011 don’t wait around for Fine Gael, Labour or the IMF to bring you flowers – Plant your own garden!
