Hi,
I am new to Steemit and joined as another way to support my favourite alternative media source (steemit.com/@corbettreport) who I wholeheartedly recommend as a regular reality check in this age of MSM fake news.
I have been on line for 20 years now in one form or another but have never posted a blog, story or opinion piece. My name is as unimportant as I am so I won't bother to introduce myself. However, I would like to contribute to the well being of others in some way (beyond the beneficial recommendation above) as it the right thing to do. To that end, I offer the most important life lesson that I have learned.
Attitude. The one and only thing that any of us can truly claim to have full control over in our lives. Our happiness with our lives and the world we live in is entirely based on how we feel and react to our observations and experiences. It is our attitude (and only our attitude) that determines how we feel and react to all stimuli.
For instance when someone dies we might feel sad, indifferent or even happy. When it is a loved one that dies most will feel only sadness (for our own loss and/or the perception that our loved one is no longer able to partake in the pleasures that life may have brought them). However, there may be a counterbalance that we overlook. Perhaps our loved one was suffering great pain, disability/loss of resources or otherwise experiencing prolonged exposure to negative conditions. Perhaps (if we don't disbelieve in heaven and/or reincarnation) they have moved on to a better stage in the evolution of their soul/spirit. The point is, that there is nearly always a silver lining in some measure if we take a positive attitude and choose to look for it.
Another example is how we perceive life's hurdles. For instance if we apply for and are rejected for an employment opportunity, should our attitude be negative and focus on the lost opportunities that the role may have bought us (drown in sorrow), or should we be positive and see the rejection as the removal of a potential diversion from a future alternative (which might even include a forced career change) that might deliver a vastly more fulfilling and satisfying opportunity/life? The point is again, that there is nearly always a silver lining in some measure if we take a positive attitude and choose to look for it.
Our lives are full of personal hurdles and (the more we choose to be informed) become blighted by an increasing awareness of the unsavory aspects of our "civilization" (the needless suffering of others). However, no matter how many negative things occur, we don't have to be miserable. That's because we own and are fully in control of how we react to and "feel" about those negative things. Someone else might be responsible for exposing you to a negative situation, but how that impacts on you is entirely dependent on your attitude (how "you choose" to feel and/or react).
The point of this lesson is that if you have a negative attitude and focus on (look for) the negative, then that is exactly what you will find and feel. If you want to feel like you have a good life and experience positive feelings then you need to maintain a positive attitude and look at (focus on) the positive side of what you are seeing or experiencing.
I hope this helps someone.
All the best from a happy nobody.