- No matter what happens, you’re not a victim. It’s up to you to determine your response.
- Embrace your life’s purpose. Make your own unique contribution that turns your environment into a better place and fulfills you.
- Make the reality your reality.
- Don’t be distracted by the overwhelmingly negative news around you. Instead, read The Intelligent Optimist.
- Don’t look back too often. Keep yourself open to today’s new opportunities.
- Listen to your friends and loved ones, but don’t become dependent on what others think of you.
- Be grateful for everything life has given you and for every step forward you can take.
- Make sure you laugh often. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Page 77, The Intelligent Optimist, vol 11, Issue 3, May/June 2013
I hope these bullet points stir up stories for yourselves and to share here with the rest of us.
I’ve been relying lately on the “Don’t be distracted by the negative news…” point. I remember taking a journalism course in High School where I learned that good, happy events rarely make news.That’s even more true today when news is mostly done in sound bites where bad news seems to fit easily. The good tends to be on-going, not fitting into one or two sentences.
The suggestion made by the Intelligent Optimist to read itself is more than just marketing. It’s one place to retreat and focus on the positive changes occurring in the world that sometimes seems overwhelmingly dangerous and destructive.
So, I’ve been listening to music more and watching TV news less – giving my brain a break.
monagustafsonaffinito 