Post 5: Joy Amidst the Defeat

Defeat...it comes in so many forms.  Defeat against getting the job, defeat against death, defeat against the odds of marriage, defeat against a 30 day challenge perhaps (we'll talk about this one later).  Whatever your defeat is today you can overcome it!  Isn't that what motivational speakers do...try to encourage you to "snap out of it"?   I have encountered an endless amount interviews in the last year that have ended in one defeat after another.  People say, "Learn from your experiences" or "This just wasn't the job for you" or  "You'll get the next one" (that's my favorite).  Well, I believe that defeat has reared it's ugly head yet again today!

Now I know that I can choose to find joy in this situation, but today I'm not sure that I feel like it.  I want to wallow for a bit.  But my "counseled" side says differently.  Let's talk about joy for a moment.  Joy is not based on circumstances, but rather a state of mind.  The quote below is from Pam Gordon of Soulful Living and I found it rather interesting.

"Thinking is critical to our happiness because in a single day 50,000 thoughts pass through the human mind and studies prove that about 80% of them are negative. WOW!  If you question this, track your thoughts for a few minutes and see how many of them are negative. I did just that and was astonished to find out that most of them were negative judgments about me!  That really doesn't surprise me.  What does amaze me is that she was able to actually track her thoughts.  Try doing it...seriously, and let me know how that works out.

The problem is our thoughts come so fast that we don’t even recognize them as thoughts, we see them as "that’s the way life is" and react accordingly. Hmmmm...We don’t have an experience of actively choosing anything. To increase our happiness we must be aware of our thoughts and choose which ones to focus on or even create new ones that are in line with our goals. We need to consciously determine where we want to put our attention because "what you focus on you will follow after." Without realizing it, many people have developed wrong thinking, or the "unhappiness habit.""  And this is where my gratitude journal has come into play, but the negative is drowning my positive.

Today, I'm in a dirty room of twenty-two third grade children that is loud and disorganized!  Joy...where are you?
 

• Well, I just realized that today is an early release day!  There's 1! 
• The last two positions that I interviewed for I did not get, but was told by both prinicipals that I was their 2nd choice...positive?  I'll take that as 2! 
• I didn't have recess duty today - 3! 
• Dinner is in the crock pot, well part of it anyway - 4!
• It's sunny outside - 5

I can't say that I feel better, but maybe my attention is at least heading in the right direction.