The Grace of Active Perspective

I'm not really a quote person, but I've always wished I was. A lot of my friends decorate their walls and notebooks with beautifully handwritten passages, and I love looking at them. The most creative thing I've ever tried was writing a quote on a bro-tank for the world's greatest camp counselor, and results were questionable at best. Last night in one of my classes, a teacher included a quote in a powerpoint that really caught my attention…

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens." -John Homer Miller

I loved it. Still do, in fact. I'm really trying hard this semester to live with this exact mindset. There are so many variables in my life right now that I literally have no control over. Instead of stressing over them so much, I'm trying to see the positives.

Actively altering my mindset has been difficult, and I've gotten off track quite a few times. I've come to find it definitely makes me sad when I watch my friends or sisters or classmates let life's little negatives get them down. I just wish everyone had the grace to realize how rewarding looking on the bright side can be. So here's a bit of advice from someone who wants to be a Positive Polly instead of a Negative Nancy: don't worry if you don't make the grade, get offered the job, or don't finish first; everything will be fine. John Homer Miller and Bob Marley know much more about this than I do, so give them a chance and listen to their messages.