The Irish Setter was standing perfectly still while his owner carefully groomed him. She ran a brush through the long hair that was now free of mats and tangles. Loose hair had been removed and the dog’s coat was now smooth and shiny.
My husband commented to the owner that it must feel good for the dog to be brushed. She told us her dog didn’t like it. We laughed and said, “If only he knew how good it was for him.”
As we walked away, I started thinking of things in my life I don’t enjoy but actually can prove to be beneficial.
Constructive criticism may not be pleasant to receive but can be helpful. It all depends on how I receive it. Instead of an attack, I can choose to look at it as helping me remove some of the tangles hindering my progress. The benefit is seeing my situation from a perspective I may not have thought of. There is also the possibility my life will run smoother.
What other areas can I use this in? Maybe with my exercise class that starts an hour earlier in the summer months. I can complain about the early hour because I’d rather still be sleeping. Or, I can choose to get out of bed and go to my class for the benefit of keeping my body fit and healthy.
I wonder how much happier I could be if I replaced, “I don’t want to” with “I choose to for the benefit of” in all areas of my life.
“When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It’s all a matter of perspective.” – unknown