Do you think the world is out to get you? Or do you think the world is filled with opportunities? The difference depends on your mindset. How you view the world affects every aspect of your life. Most important, your mindset affects relationships. We can see evidence of this every day.
For example, look around and you can often see two people engaged in similar tasks but providing different responses in how they help others.
One clerk at the counter invites the next customer up by saying, “Hello, how can I help you?” Another simply says, “Next!”
One bank teller, working in a bank adjacent to a senior retirement community, sees an older person approaching and says to the visiting supervisor, “See how grumpy these old people are?” An adjacent teller waits patiently for the elderly customer to approach her window and comments, “So nice to see you today.”
Why does one person attempt to bring sunshine and another find a way to bring darkness (or at least not attempt to make the other person’s day better)? I think it has less to do with the boss, the family, the environment, the situation, the job, hormones, television, or ornery people than we think. I suspect it’s actually about one’s mindset. And as we’ve all seen at one time or another, your mindset affects relationships.
For Better or For Worse, Mindset Affects Relationships
Some people see at their awakening each morning that existence demands mutual-supportiveness and civility. So they approach the world that way. This has nothing to do with status, profession, or subculture. It has everything to do with outlook. I’ve seen nurses who were unsympathetic and needlessly cruel. I’ve also seen police officers in riot gear who were polite and respectful.
If you FEEL the world is out to get you, you probably THINK it is, and as such, many situations will APPEAR that way. But if you believe your existence is largely what you make it and how you react to situations and stimuli, then you’ll enjoy yourself more and experience more positive relationships. And if you manage to help someone else make out well along the way, that’s money in the bank of life.
Tip: Your mindset and how you interact with others is always a choice. Choose positivity over negativity. When you do, you’ll experience more rewarding relationships and less daily stress.
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