Live Positively, Permanently
When we become aware that the negative energy of our attitudes is hindering our successes and is the main factor to the detriment in our lives, we may decide that an attitude change is in order. We may look at changing our negative attitude to a more positive one like we would look at changing a bad habit of say, smoking, to a more healthy habit of something like exercise.
We consciously accept that the goal we set for ourselves is to change the negative attitude to a more positive one. We are aware that it will take time and effort and we give it time and put in the effort. Attempts at attitude changes are sometimes undertaken on about New Years Day as a "New Year's resolution" in which we commit to ourselves to become more positive, much like resolving to lose weight or quit smoking.
However, as committed as people may be to make a serious attitude transformation, almost invariably within a few weeks or months of their efforts they find themselves right back to square one, being slowly but surely consumed by the same negative energy that they were trying change.
Making an attitude transformation is much more complex than simply making a conscious decision to do so. Sweeping dirt under a rug may give the living space the appearance that it is dirt free but the dirt still exists, it’s just hidden. If dirt is continuously swept beneath the rug, in time it will become noticeable as lumps beneath the carpet. There will then be no denying that the dirt still exists. The same is true with our negative energy. It must be eliminated at it's source, not masked or buried within us.
A more interesting analogy that I use at my seminars is that of a leaking interior ceiling. While looking up at a ceiling that leaks when it rains you can see the water stained ceiling tiles, whether it’s raining or not. Suppose the homeowner made the decision to repair the ceiling. He contacted a home repair contractor and the work was performed and completed. When the homeowner inspected the ceiling he was happy to see that the ceiling looked brand new. The new ceiling panels replaced the leaky water stained sections and now the ceiling looked brand new new again.
However, after the first rainfall, the ceiling began to leak again. The water stains came back and the homeowner realized that he was right back to square one again with the leaky water stained ceiling. Perplexed, the homeowner called the repair contractor and explained to him the problem. Once again, the contractor came to repair the ceiling. Upon completion of his work the ceiling looked beautiful and new again.
But, just as before, after another hard steady rainfall the ceiling began to leak again. This has become an exasperating cycle for the homeowner as he realized that all of his efforts and expense of having the ceiling repaired two separate times was for naught. So, after careful evaluation, he realized that the repair contractor simply replaced the damaged water stained ceiling panels but had not made an attempt to evaluate and repair the actual damage in the roof where the leaking water was originating from. The repair contractor never got up on the roof to locate and repair the leak at it's source!
The homeowner now realizing the mistake, got up on the roof himself and assessed the damaged area. He got a bucket of tar and some shingles and patched the holes himself. He then purchased some new interior ceiling panels and once and for all replaced them. This time the repairs withstood the next rainfall and every rainfall thereafter. His ceiling was repaired properly and permanently!
The point of this story is to bring notice to the fact that the leaky ceiling was merely a symptom of the main underlying problem which were the leaks on the exterior roof. Replacing the ceiling panels merely gave the appearance of a complete repair. It was only a matter of time until the "masking" of the ceiling panels would give way to the reality of the leaks on the roof.
This is exactly what happens with us when we consciously make an attempt to transform our negative attitudes to more positive ones without dealing with the underlying problems that are the sources of our negative energy. Negative attitudes are merely symptoms of underlying problems. To ignore the underlying problems of our negative attitudes and to deal with and try to correct only the symptoms, we are merely replacing ceiling panels under a leaky roof.
Here are just a few sources of negative energy in many people's lives:
1) A job or career that they are unhappy with. Remedy: Put relentless effort into changing jobs or even your whole career!
2) An unhappy marriage or relationship. Remedy: Put relentless effort into improving it or realize it's beyond hope and end it!
3) Constant conflicts with neighbors or friends. Remedy: Put relentless effort into improving the relationships. If it proves futile, move. With the friends, get new ones or have none. Having fewer friends is better than having friends who drain your positive energy!
Copyright © 2006-2010 Dusty Frank. All Rights Reserved
