Story from equity learning

CAUSE AND RESOLUTION

Once upon a time a man couldn't find his axe. He suspected his neighbor's son because the boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief, and spoke like a thief. The following morning the man found his axe because he remembered where he had left it. The next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked, and spoke like any other child.

This ancient little tale by Lao-tzu portrays in five acts the cause and resolution of all conflicts--whether in a family, between neighbors, or among nations.

Act one: an external change occurs.

Act two: we become unhappy about the change, and we quickly find someone or something to blame.

Act three: our unhappiness colors our perceptions and we misidentify "the enemy."

Act four: the external cause of our unhappiness is removed.

Act five: our perception clears up and we see things as they simply are.

Unfortunately, very few people get to the fifth act and get stuck at Act Three, the reason being once we have misidentified "the enemy", ego builds a formidable rationalization process to ensure that we always feel that way towards that person or event. Why is it so hard to admit we were wrong, or to apologize to someone? Because we have invested so much energy in building our self-righteous façade, that the ego will do virtually anything to maintain consistency to keep us away from the Truth

Having an optimistic outlook can improve one’s health, to be more optimistic in your daily life, try these six strategies....

1. Be on the lookout for negative thoughts. When you catch yourself thinking
your life is terrible, stop the thought in its track.

2. Put things in perspective. Remember, everyone’s life is full of sorrows and joys.

3. Try to find the good in bad situations. If you’ve suffered a setback at work, for example,
look at what the situation tells you about yourself and learn from it. But don’t dwell on it.

4. Learn from your mistakes. Failure is one of the greatest learning tools,
but many people let failure defeat them. Learn and try again.

5. Even if you’re feeling down, act as if your mood is good. Smile at others. Laugh.
After a while, you find that your mood really does improve.

6. Be grateful. Gratitude can help you focus on what’s right in your life.


Pay attention to how your view of life may be bringing you down.....
With practice, you’ll be able to replace your negative thoughts with more positive ones