What We Pay Attention To

      Throughout my career, I have experienced many highs and lows. By highs, I refer to the progression of my career and the opinions of my superiors; by lows, I refer to the gossip spread about me and various attempts to destroy my reputation. In all lows, there is a consistent theme of my superiors and their peers supporting me; however, what I notice about myself is that I pay attention to the gossip. I let it get into my heart and mind and I focus on it. I sit here wondering why I focus on the negative, when the positive is also true, and the positive is in the minds of those that can keep me or fire me! A very wise and dear friend once said to me Keep those positive comments coming back and remember, if the criticism isn’t productive, constructive, and fact based, it doesn’t deserve further consideration. Truer words were never spoken.

      In all lows in our life, we need to focus on the highs; the positives. In all lows there can be lessons, which we should also pay attention to; however, if you combine the positives with the negatives, the negatives become lessons learned and all in all, you can turn what you perceive as a negative situation, into a positive. Given enough time, you can even learn to be grateful for the negative because you learned something. Whether it is about yourself, or about human nature, you learned. If you find yourself in a series of lows, stop and take stock of your life, not the lives of those either creating or participating in the low. If the criticism isn’t productive, constructive, and fact based, it doesn’t deserve further consideration. Regardless of your mode of remembering things, keep this one in front of you.

      In all lows in our life are lessons. Pay attention to the lesson and how it pertains to who you are, who you want to be, and what perception of yourself you want to portray to others. Then be grateful for the lesson and move on. Don’t become victim to others perception of you. If you want to change how others view you, then change yourself and how you portray yourself to the world. If you want to play victim, that is also your choice; however, you will have a far happier life either learning the lesson or ignoring the situation. Regardless, the message I am trying to give you is the same…let it go!