A Positive Outlook

     You often hear the advice, 'keep a positive attitude,' but what does that mean?  Should you look at the world through rose colored glasses, not acknowledging the truth of a situation?  I think a positive outlook or attitude has a deeper meaning. None of us are immune to the slings and arrows of life, but how we weather the storm can be greatly influenced by our attitude. There are many stories of people surviving horrific life threatening situations or illnesses and there are stories of people sadly giving up in similar situations. Attitude probably played a major role in these situations. You do not have to look at the world through rose colored glasses, but you do have to look beyond your present situation. Usually the way you look at a problem is, at least to some degree, how it comes out.  Thankfully, we can often say something wasn't as bad as we thought it would be, but we still put ourselves through a lot of pain and anguish in anticipation of the event.  None of us want to go through a root canal procedure, but we can choose to concentrate on the expertise and skill of the dentist and how improved your dental health will be when it is done.  Often root canals are preceded by repeated pain in the area and other procedures to save the tooth.  Now the issue has been effectively dealt with and there will be no more pain. If you try to correct a  problem by focusing on the positive outcome that you wish to achieve, it gives you a way to effectively take care of the problem while keeping your stress levels down.  You're not saying that a tooth that obviously needs repair is fine, but you are focusing on your desired good; that will bring happiness rather than stress. That is the difference.  No long distance runner focuses on how long the race is, but upon completing the race and making it to the finish line.
     There is a saying that attitude is everything and it is a medical fact that constant stress can have harmful effects on you. So a positive outlook does make life worth living because it allows you to strive for the good in all situations and reduce the stress that can make life hell.  A good that we all deserve and are capable of manifesting.  There are metaphysical studies that say what you focus on is what you get.  Well, you have two choices.  You can set up a self-fulfilling prophesy of all the bad outcomes in your life that could happen, or you can choose the other side of the coin of the good in your life with positive outcomes.
     In my book Pompeii Days, Mary, the main character, admits she is a bit of a worrier.  In traveling to Pompeii, she has to admit she is unnerved by the potentially active volcano, Vesuvius.  However, her love for ancient history overrides this and she goes there to do excavations and field work.  Due to rumblings under the volcano she experiences an earthquake and meets a man, with very a very positive view of life, who will challenge her worrier attitude.  She will have to remember the lessons he spoke of, because they may be the one thing that will saves her in a dangerous situation.