Habitual Optimism - What my dog taught me about positive thinking.

Sparky likes to run!

Whenever I get ready to let my dog, Sparky, out to the backyard, she is ready to move the moment the door opens. She's always optimistic and seems to be thinking, “There could be something out there that’s going to be fun to chase. Maybe a cat! Maybe a squirrel! Something could be out there!” She never seems concerned that the big dog next door might have gotten over the fence again and could be out there waiting for her.

When that door opens, she is gone, almost instantly, to the back fence to take a look. Most of the time there isn’t anything back there. Still, she knows that every time the door opens, there just might be. And, when she comes back in the house, she always checks the front door, just in case someone might have left it open so she could go for an exhilarating run off the leash. She’s a whippet/Jack Russell mix, and would never pass up a chance to run at full throttle.

Is some fantastic opportunity going to present itself to me every time I go out my front door? Probably not. However, if I go through the day thinking something great might be just around the corner, which is the way Sparky thinks, I’m going to be ready when opportunities do arise.

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Who has inspired you with a positive attitude? How can you develop a similar outlook on life? Leave a comment.

Related reading on positive thinking. 

Switching from negative to positive thinking. 

Positive Assumptions. 

Overcoming fear when it goes from reasonable to irrational

The Gator Whisperer

I once went hiking up a mountain with some friends. As we went higher the trail got thinner. In some places we were one small slip from plunging to the depths of Hell. Then there was a spot where the trail had been washed out. A jump of about three feet was required to go forward.

I was at the front of the group but I was so scared of missing the little jump that I stepped aside and let the others go first. I was in good shape and there was no reason to think I would have any trouble with the jump. However, the more I looked, the more I envisioned myself sliding down the mountain to my demise.


Seeing my friends make the jump should have helped. Instead, I was focused on the horrible consequences if I missed. Soon I was the only person who hadn’t made the jump. I was nearly paralyzed with fear and I seriously considered staying behind. My friends told me there was nothing to it. Finally, I took a deep breath and made the jump. It was no big deal.

When you spend too much time looking at a problem, it can seem bigger and more difficult than it actually is. Being careful is good, but overdoing it can keep us from moving forward.

Do fears sometimes hold you back? How can you recognize when sensible fear crosses the line to being irrational?

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Also, if you liked the writing, you might enjoy one or more of my ebooks. The titles listed in the right column and more are available at Amazon.com. Check them out!

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Prepare Your Mind for Success

A recent outing to Brown's Creek.

Do you see the future as a time when good things might happen, or as a time when good things will happen? 

Preparation is one of the keys to a successful fishing trip. A fisherman needs to check many things before setting out. 

Gear, bait, and license. You need to make sure everything works, and that you have hooks and a knife and the right bait. 

Weather and up to date fishing reports. It’s good to be aware of the tides, what species are hitting and where, etc. 

Knowledge of fishing regulations. There are lots of rules. Keep the wrong fish and you could end up with a big fine.

When I was getting ready for a recent outing, my wife suggested that I bring some ice to cool whatever I caught. I told her that I could get ice at the pier if I caught something.

Her attitude and mine were subtly different. She was thinking I would catch something and I was thinking I might catch something. I decided to pack some ice. 

Have you laid the necessary groundwork to succeed? Are you mentally prepared for success? What will it take to make the shift in your thinking?

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Also, if you have an insight on how to become more positive in your thought life, please leave a comment. 

Murphy's Law Breaker: Positive Thinking for Pessimists, has some of Danny’s humorous and inspirational writings. It’s on Kindle and you can get a free Kindle app if you don’t have one. Check it out at Amazon.com.

More articles on Positive Thinking.

The Power of Positive Memories.

Switching from negative thinking to positive.

Shaking down the highway with positive assumptions.

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Circle of Envy - A Thanksgiving Tale

Not a bad view near Sisters Creek. 

Once upon a time, a man was fishing from a dock. The weather was beautiful and the man was peaceful and happy. Then he noticed a boater backing his little boat down the nearby ramp and into the water. He started thinking, “Oh boy, does that guy have it made! He’s not stuck on a dock, like me, waiting and hoping for the fish to come to him. He’s a free man. He can fish in one spot and if he doesn’t catch anything there, he can pull up his anchor and go somewhere else. I would do anything, just to have a little boat like that.”

The man in the little boat was feeling pretty good as he fired up his five and a half horsepower Evinrude and pulled away. He thought to himself, “I am the captain of this ship. I can go anywhere. I can do anything. If I don’t catch a fish in one spot, I can pull anchor and go somewhere else. I am invincible. Yes!”

After a while, a guy in a cool bass boat passed the man in the little boat. The bass boat was fully decked out. Swivel seats, a live well, all the gadgets, and ten times the horsepower on the pitiful little boat. The man in the little boat thought to himself, “That guy really has it made. If I could ever get my hands on a boat like that, everything would be beautiful. I’d be a happy man.”

A little later, a dude in a great speedboat passed the guy in the bass boat. The guy in the bass boat thought, “Oh baby, that is one sweet boat. He can fish off it, but he can also pull a water skier. And he can go anywhere twice as fast as I can in this old clunker. If only I had a boat like that, I would be so happy.”

Then the speedboat passed a cabin cruiser. The dude in the speedboat thought to himself, “Now that guy has it made. When he goes out on his boat, he can stay overnight. He doesn’t have to worry about being anywhere by dusk. If he’s still out when it gets dark, he can just throw his anchor over the side and let the water rock him to sleep.”

The boater in the cabin cruiser noticed the ultimate waterfront mansion. He throttled down to take a good look. The house was like something out of a fairy tale. Several boats were tied up at the dock including an oceangoing yacht, a huge speedboat, an incredible fishing boat, and a heavy duty boat. The boater thought to himself, “That guy has it all. He has a boat for whatever mood he’s in. And he doesn’t have to back down a ramp or drive to a marina. He just walks out the back door, down to the dock, gets in whichever boat suits him, and goes. What I wouldn’t do to have what he has.”

A little while later, the man in the little boat putted by the big house. The owner was looking out the window. He had a cell phone in his ear. His lawyer was on one line, his accountant on another line, and an unhappy client on yet a third line. As he watched the little boat go by, he reminisced about the good old days when he only had one small boat. “Life was so much simpler," he told himself. "Now things are very complicated. I have an unbelievable house with an unbelievable mortgage payment. I have very expensive toys but no time to play with them. And I have grown kids who are waiting for me to die so they can get their hands on my money. That guy on the little boat may not know it, but he really has it made! I would do just about anything to go back to being like him.”

---

This story is from Chicken Nuggets for the Soul and it's based on something from my life. One day, back when I had a small boat, I was at a boat ramp and got into a chat with the owner of a very nice bass boat. It had all the bells and whistles. I have to admit, I was a bit envious. I think the guy might have sensed it. 

"Want to know where I got my best fish of the day today?" he asked me.

Of course I wanted to know.

"Right under that dock," he told me.

True story!

Positive Positioning - Right Place, Right Time.

It's nice to be in the right place at the right time.
The day I got this pic was one of those times in my life.

By the time I turned twenty I was making a living and renting a place of my own. After finishing my first two years of college, I didn’t have the resources or the time to continue. There were bills to be paid. I started a small business moving and repairing waterbeds. The  money was OK, but the work was tough on my back.

After a few years, I began taking classes part-time at the University of North Florida. Fellow students joked that U.N.F. stood for, "You never finish," and it did seem like it would take forever. One day I got a call from a customer in a gated community who needed my services. It was Adam Herbert, the new President at U.N.F.

While I worked, I told him I was working towards a degree one class at a time. He encouraged me to stick with it. As I was wrapping up, he told me to let him know if there was anything he could do to help me in my educational pursuits.

I had already thought through what I would ask for if the opportunity arose. I said, “Mr. Herbert, if you have any scholarship money laying around, I could use some.”

He asked me what my GPA was. I had about a 3.5. He told me who to talk to in Financial Aid. Within a month I had enough scholarship money to go full-time. It only took a few semesters to finish.

At least three important elements came into play for getting that scholarship.

• I had a respectable GPA which qualified me for the kind of scholarship Mr. Herbert could nudge forward.
• I did a good job for my customer. Otherwise he certainly wouldn’t have offered to be helpful.
• I was in a positive frame of mind, ready to ask for something when the opportunity to do so arose.

Occasionally, when you ask for something, you might actually receive it. However, the groundwork has to be in place and you have to be ready. Faithfulness in small things can put you into position to ask and receive.

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What are some of the small things in life that people can do to position themselves for positive opportunities? What has worked in your life? If you have a tip or a suggestion, leave it in the comments.

More on Positive Thinking

Habitual Optimism

Prepare your mind for success

Positive Assumptions

One drip away from insanity. Nip that leak in the bud!

A dripping faucet in a tub can be surprisingly destructive. I left a dripping faucet alone long enough for the water to wear through the enamel and then the cast iron. Since the drip was in the kids’ end of the house, it didn’t bother me much. I periodically applied new enamel but I was treating a symptom rather than the cause.

Eventually, I replaced some parts and the dripping stopped. Before long it came back. There was a tiny part called a “seat” one step beyond what I had fixed. It had deteriorated and it was the cause of the leak. One tiny notch in a small bit of plumbing, like that seat, is enough to produce the type of drip that leads to nervous breakdowns. 

I had to buy a special wrench to get the seat out! After I screwed the new seat in and reassembled the faucet, there was no more drip. Unfortunately, by that time there was lots of corrosion around the drain. I called in an expert. The hidden damage was five times worse than what I could see. It was amazing!

A small problem like a dripping faucet can be very annoying. As I found out, that small problem was very destructive over time. Also, the hidden damage was far worse than what I could see. Spiritual problems can be like that. Although they might seem like small annoyances, they can cause serious damage over time. Beneath the surface they can be more like a spreading cancer.

For example, greed can lead to miserly behavior and criminal acts. Gluttony can lead to obesity and poor health. And a properly nurtured resentment can lead to an obsessive desire for revenge culminating in murder.

As Barney Fife might say, “Nip the drip. Nip it in the bud.”

Can you think of spiritual issues that seem small but which are in fact serious problems? What have you found to be effective as remedies for things like that? 

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If you liked this tip about positive thinking, you might also like Murphy's Law Breaker: Positive Thinking for Pessimists. Check it out.

Laughter is the Best Therapy

Brian King

A few years ago I wanted to check out a seminar called Habits of Happy People. However, I wasn’t getting enough work at the time and I didn't feel like I could afford it. I’ve done quite a bit of event photography and it occurred to me that I could try to trade event shots for admission.

For most of my life, negative thinking has been the norm. When I was in comedy my best schtick revolved around Murphy's Law. I told lots of, "You might be a Murphy if..." jokes.

If I had been in a negative thinking mode when I thought of bartering for admission to the seminar, the positive idea would soon have been followed by a thought like, “That will never work. Don't even bother.”

Fortunately, I had started implementing some positive thinking techniques and I was in a positive frame of mind. “This could work,” I told myself.

The speaker was Brian King, a comedian/psychologist. His motto is, “Comedy is rarely painless.” Oh yeah! I contacted him and he liked the idea of getting some fresh pictures. He agreed to my proposal.

The seminar was excellent. Laughter is the best therapy! I would recommend Brian’s seminars to anyone who is looking for ways to be happier and have a more positive outlook on life.

Has laughter ever helped you to get through a tough time? Share your experience int he comments section. 

Have you ever ignored one of your own good ideas? When you think of something positive, pay attention. It might open doors in your life.

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Further Reading

How to tell jokes

Remedial Sensitivity

Make America Laugh Again

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Defective shoes can sometimes be a perfect fit.

I once bought a pair of walking shoes off the clearance rack at a shoe store I had never been to before. It was a nice store with some of the better brands.The walking shoes were a perfect fit and the price was right at $80.

Within two weeks I noticed a spot where the side of the shoe was separating a bit. It was an insignificant cosmetic flaw. I went back to the shoe store to see if they would do anything about the shoes. While the salesman conferred with the manager, I tried on another pair of shoes from the clearance rack. They fit perfectly.

When the salesman returned, he offered me a choice of either a full refund or $60 if I wanted to keep the shoes. I liked the shoes so I took the second option and applied the refund to the pair I had just tried on.

I ended up paying $120 for two pairs of shoes that had previously retailed for well over $300. The way I was treated made me a customer for life. Why would I go anywhere else?

If I had been in a pessimistic thinking mode I never would have gone back to that store because I would have assumed that nothing good would come of it.

A positive outlook makes many things possible.

Have you ever had an experience where something wasn't quite right and it worked out very well in the end? Leave a comment. 


If you found this post useful, share it with your friends and colleagues. The sharing buttons are below.

You can find more of my writings in my ebooks, including Murphy's Law Breaker: Positive Thinking for Pessimists. Check it out.

More articles on Positive Thinking.

Habitual Optimism

Positive Positioning

The Mind Garden

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