Isn't It Great To Be Alive?

Isn’t it great to be alive!

First the bad news… Giving out is like swine flu - highly contagious. If you are complaining it invites the person you are talking to to join in. One comment about the shocking weather leads to another, throw in a bad football result and the recession, and before you know it you’re in the middle of a full scale crying match.

Let’s face it, some people light up a room by entering it – and others do so by leaving. Listening to workmates, family or neighbours giving out all the time can be hard work. You can almost feel them draining the life force from you. In fact some people seem to have their own personal dark cloud that follows them around – and it can envelop you too if you are not careful.

The good news is that being cheerful can be even more contagious. In fact it can reach epidemic proportions very quickly. Life is all about choices. You can choose to give out all day or you can choose to tell yourself (any anybody else listening) ‘isn’t it great to be alive’. You maybe can’t choose who you meet every day – but you can choose how you react.

You can look at a half glass of water (or whiskey) and say it’s half-full or half-empty. Even if you look at it and say ‘get away from my glass, or I’ll thump the head off ye’, it’s still a choice. So try this…

Next time someone around you starts to give out, just say ‘But isn’t it great to be alive’. You are doing three distinct things here. Firstly you are interrupting their flow of negative thought, and allowing them to choose a positive one instead. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, you are deflecting their negativity away from you. This one simple sentence can become like a powerful invisible shield for you. Thirdly you are actively engaging in what psychologists call affirmation. This is the power of positive thought.

These days most people are aware that all the top sports teams and athletes use positive psychology. The simple truth is that we project our own destiny. So, if you wake up and tell yourself ‘This is gonna be another crap day’, guess what? It will surely be every bit as bad as you predicted. If instead you tell yourself ‘This is gonna be a great day’ or ‘Isn’t it great to be alive’ you will also find the evidence to prove yourself right. If it’s good enough for Tiger Woods, isn’t it good enough for us?

It’s fair to say that most of us are already aware of this. Knowing it and being able to do something about it are two different things though. Now the people in the ‘positive mental attitude’ industry like to dress this up in psycho-babble. This helps them sell their books and seminars where they will tell you ‘The Secret’ or ‘5 easy ways to happiness’. They also put most ordinary people off by complicating things. My aim here is to simplify them.

Why not give it a go? We have nothing to lose but our chains! Next time you meets a neighbour who starts off with ‘isn’t the weather shockin bad’, just say ‘But, isn’t it great to be alive!’ 9 out of 10 people will say ‘Isn’t it just’ or ‘Jeez you’re right’. Even if you don’t shift em first time – persevere. They say ‘jeez, I never seen the work so bad’ – you say ‘But isn’t it great to be alive’ They say ‘Isn’t the place gone to hell altogether’ – you say, guess what? Even if they walk off muttering about how you must be on drugs, you stay happy. And even then, they have been infected by your cheerfulness. They might not know it yet – but they will…

It’s a perfect circle. You think positive; that releases endorphins and all the other good stuff into your bloodstream; that makes you feel good; so you think positive; that releases endorphins… Of course it works in reverse as well, if you dwell on negative thoughts. So today, right now, do you choose happiness or misery?

We can’t change the weather, the economy or the ‘youth of today’. But we can choose how we think about life, after all… isn’t it great to be alive! Thank You for Listening…