friend of mine remarked the other day that she’s surrounded by a lot of unhappy/negative people. All she hears are complains, complains, and yet more complains. (I could relate because this has been my experience as well.). Another friend joined us at this point; she started complaining about her job, her bosses, and her life; in fact, she spent the whole time we were with her by zeroing on her unhappiness, hogging all the attention and venting. I got the point. 😀
This started me thinking. Focusing on the negative makes people forget all the positive things (in life that make it worth living). Moods are contagious and spreading negativity and ingratitude to your fellow human beings should not be allowed. Unfortunately, it’s prevalent across all walks of life in our society. We are generally ungrateful folk.
Graphic courtesy of HBR
God even remarks on this phenomenon in the Quran in numerous places – in fact, there is one chapter dedicated entirely to humanity denying His gifts. He gives us a list of notable favors (on top of numerous gifts that He doesn’t count over there) that have been bestowed on humanity in Surah Rahman. For example, being taught to read, for the gift of life, for speech, for the solar system, for the flora, for space or the heavens, for the balance, for our ability to measure/ estimate, for our planet earth, for the fauna, for the fruit and palms, for the grains and fragrance, for the east and the west, for the two seas that meet but do not merge, for the pearls large and small, for the ships as big as mountains, for the end of all things, for God the Lord of glory and honor, for humanity’s ability to go in the airspace and space, for the reward for good deeds, for the gardens, for flowing fountains, for pairs (of two), for luxurious fabrics like silk and brocade, for good, for beauty, for purity. Obviously, the list is exhaustive…but we do get the point.
Yes, we should really count our blessings…I started a list too- this easily topped hundred blessings without any effort and this is still by no means a definitive list, there are probably hundreds of godsends that I still take for granted and left off my list…
Thank God
For God
For being born lucky
For being alive
For every year that I live past my birthday
For my health
For all my five (or is it six?) senses in full working order
For my close knit family
For my genes
For being employed
For always landing on my feet in a jam
For everyday miracles
For personal space
For not having to pay rent
For my family home
For being able to drive
For being able to afford and run my own car
For being able to live in a city with amenities
For living in a nice neighborhood
For being able to pay my bills
For being (relatively) debt free
For being free and single
For answering to nobody (but God)
For living in a free country
For being born a Muslim in a Muslim family in a Muslim country
For not being born poor
For not being born rich
For being able to express myself
For self-actualization
For having no hang-ups
For the ability to communicate effectively
For being born in an educated family
For having progressive liberal parents
For my mother being still alive
For being able to read and write
For being better off than countless of homeless, ill, hungry, starving, orphaned, alone, needy, old, tired, desperate, illiterate, hopeless people
For having simple wants (or rather for having enough disposable income to buy anything I want whenever I want)
For having no personal financial liabilities (or interest-based debts in spite of a credit card!)
For having an extensive wardrobe with loads of nice clothes, shoes, jewelry, belts…
For being able to like myself
For being able to respect myself
For being able to look myself in the eye
For all my good friends
For being able to live my life my way without any apologies or qualifications or regrets
For being happy and full of hope that things will only get better, they can’t get any worse! 😀
For books
For my collections (books, music, clothes, accessories, fabric, e-books)
For (collective human) knowledge, inventions, discoveries, for the history, for design, for the past full of useful developments, for good precedents, for good traditions, for useful innovations
For clocks
For calendars
For systems that work
For order
for tools
For simplicity
For elegance
For medicines
For a good education
For ‘real’ knowledge being free
For experience and exposure
For travel
For the world wide web and the internet
For computers and calculators
For generous friends and colleagues who can count and help me count and do math when I get stuck!
For my hobbies and interests
For being able to finance my hobbies and interests
For my ability to learn new skills
For new interests
For common sense
For being adaptable and resilient
For chocolate
For music
For life
For poetry
For creativity
for words
For smiling, pleasant people
For positivity
For friendship(s)
For the concept of equality
for good ideas
for facts
For our humanity
For food and moreover good food!
For spices
For perfume
For flowers
For trees
For the four seasons
For contrasts
For never being lonely
For being busy and useful
For colors
For good balancing evil
For good people balancing out the bad
For universal ethics and a moral code across all religions and cultures
For justice
for good
For truth
For beauty
For love
For balance
For faith
For honesty
For harmony
For generosity
For kindness
For consideration
For manners
For humor
For logic
For rational reasoning
For sanity
For art
For writers
For poets
For thinkers
For designers
For musicians
For artists
For crafts people
For engineers
For doctors
For teachers
For scientists
For cooks and gourmet cooks
For great recipes
For gardeners
For beautiful gardens
For architects
For experts
For being able to afford household help to do boring, bot-like chores as clean house, do laundry, wash dishes, dust, ironing
For every-day comforts and amenities
For good things in life being free
For our planet earth
For the universe,
For time
For our place in this time and space
For our kids and future generations
for hope
for human imagination
for peace
for great stories
for great people that touch hundreds of lives positively
For people who make this a better world
For people who actually like to make a difference (without any visible rewards in this life)
For roads
For human warmth
For being able to smile everyday no matter what
For empathy
For research
For cold water in hot summer months
For our ability to store perishable food, (though I wish the fridge –and even air conditioners – didn’t come with harmful CFC gases!)
For inventions that control temperatures inside our homes and workplaces
For running water
For clean, safe drinking water
For nature and its intricate eco-systems
For (the invention of) restrooms inside homes and workplaces
For sleep
For cleanliness
For rain
for fresh water
for family support
for useful animals and plants
for cotton
for leather
for wool
for Lycra
for denim
for twill
for running hot water in cold weather and for hot showers
for my favorite cup of tea (classic Earl Grey Twinings), walnut cake, lemon tarts and chocolate tarts
for the sense of accomplishment you get at crossing out each task listed on your to-do list at the end of the day
Publisher and editor-in-chief of Tkfr.com and former print editions of The Knit-Xtyle Fashion Review (tkfr), a trade newsletter for the textile and apparel industry of Pakistan. In short, Publisher, editor, and a blogger.
In addition, she has served as Managing Editor of MIT Technology Review Pakistan, print and web editions (2015-16). Total of 7 editions were published under her leadership by ITU, Punjab's first public technology university under the license of MIT Technology Review (USA). She has also managed Value Mag in the same capacity, a real estate and lifestyle magazine for Value TV - 2008-9. Published freelancer for The News on Sunday 1994-96.
Fareeha has over 21 years of solid management experience – of managing brands (like Harley Davidson, Munsingwear, Chaps, Chaps Ralph Lauren etc.,), Retailers (like Target, Mervyns, Kohl's, Marks and Spencer etc.,), customers (VPs, Product Managers, Unit Managers, and Buyers), and products (apparel - woven, knits, men's, women's, children's, Print and online publishing units), projects, teams, and processes, information, content, and data, staff, vendors, and time. Versatile and adaptable with international exposure, communication and language skills (oral and written), and a consistent track record of achieving company targets and objectives, plus a MA in Political Science from Punjab University, a MSc in Economics from La Salle University, Louisiana, USA, and a BA in Economics from Kinnaird College for Women.
Is the glass half empty or half full?From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Is the glass half empty or half full?Is the glass half empty or half full? is a common expression, used rhetorically to indicate that a particular situation could be a cause for optimism (half full) or pessimism (half empty), or as a general litmus test to simply determine an individual’s worldview.[1] The purpose of the question is to demonstrate that the situation may be seen in different ways depending on one’s point of view and that there may be opportunity in the situation as well as trouble.
This idiom is used to explain how people perceive events and objects. Perception is unique to every individual and is simply one’s interpretation of reality. The phrase “Is the glass half empty or half full” can be referred to as a philosophical question.[2]
Positive thinking: Reduce stress by eliminating negative self-talk
Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. Practice overcoming negative self-talk with examples provided.
By Mayo Clinic staff
“I do not believe in taking the right decision, I take a decision and make it right.”
― Muhammad Ali Jinnah
tags: inspirational, positive-attitude, self-awareness, self-confidence, self-improvement
“Life is a bowl of cherries. Some cherries are rotten while others are good; its your job to throw out the rotten ones and forget about them while you enjoy eating the ones that are good! There are two kinds of people: those who choose to throw out the good cherries and wallow in all the rotten ones, and those who choose to throw out all the rotten ones and savor all the good ones.”
― C. JoyBell C.
tags: inspirational-attitude, inspirational-life, inspirational-quotes, life, life-and-living, life-is-a-bowl-of-cherries, living-life, living-life-to-the-fullest, positive-attitude, positivity, the-art-of-life, two-kinds-of-people, wisdom-quotes
“What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity.”
― J. Sidlow Baxter
A good attitude is an asset in personal, professional life
By Jane R. Elgass
If you’ve got a good one, chances are you brighten other people’s day. If you’ve got a bad one, you may be alienating colleagues at work and even your friends. And a bad one may be costing you a promotion or appointment to a new position. It’s all about attitudes.
“Studies have shown that people want to be with those who have a good attitude,” Pam Wyess told participants in her Human Resource Development (HRD) class May 27. “In fact, for some employers, a good attitude is sometimes a more important consideration than skills. You can train for skills, but it’s difficult to work a bad attitude.”
Wyess, who learned a lot about attitudes and how they can affect one’s life during 11 years with the Ann Arbor Police Department, now shares that background with others through the HRD course, “The Choice Is Yours: An Introduction to Attitudes in the Workplace.”
How to Create a Positive Attitude BY Geoffrey James A positive attitude is never automatic. You have to work at it! Here’s how to become a master of the mind.
A positive attitude–optimism, expectancy, and enthusiasm–makes everything in business easier. A positive attitude boosts you up when you’re down and supercharges you when you’re already “on a roll.”
Here’s how to cultivate a positive attitude, regardless of what’s happening at work, based upon a conversation with Jeff Keller, author of the bestseller Attitude Is Everything:
1. Remember that YOU control your attitude.
Attitude does not emerge from what happens to you, but instead from how you decide to interpret what happens to you.
Take, for example, receiving the unexpected gift of an old automobile. One person might think: “It’s a piece of junk!” a second might think: “It’s cheap transportation,” and a third might think: “It’s a real classic!”
In each case, the person is deciding how to interpret the event and therefore controlling how he or she feels about it (i.e. attitude).
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More reading?
Is the glass half empty or half full?From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Is the glass half empty or half full?Is the glass half empty or half full? is a common expression, used rhetorically to indicate that a particular situation could be a cause for optimism (half full) or pessimism (half empty), or as a general litmus test to simply determine an individual’s worldview.[1] The purpose of the question is to demonstrate that the situation may be seen in different ways depending on one’s point of view and that there may be opportunity in the situation as well as trouble.
This idiom is used to explain how people perceive events and objects. Perception is unique to every individual and is simply one’s interpretation of reality. The phrase “Is the glass half empty or half full” can be referred to as a philosophical question.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_the_glass_half_empty_or_half_full%3F
Positive thinking: Reduce stress by eliminating negative self-talk
Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. Practice overcoming negative self-talk with examples provided.
By Mayo Clinic staff
Is your glass half-empty or half-full?
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/positive-thinking/SR00009
“I do not believe in taking the right decision, I take a decision and make it right.”
― Muhammad Ali Jinnah
tags: inspirational, positive-attitude, self-awareness, self-confidence, self-improvement
“Life is a bowl of cherries. Some cherries are rotten while others are good; its your job to throw out the rotten ones and forget about them while you enjoy eating the ones that are good! There are two kinds of people: those who choose to throw out the good cherries and wallow in all the rotten ones, and those who choose to throw out all the rotten ones and savor all the good ones.”
― C. JoyBell C.
tags: inspirational-attitude, inspirational-life, inspirational-quotes, life, life-and-living, life-is-a-bowl-of-cherries, living-life, living-life-to-the-fullest, positive-attitude, positivity, the-art-of-life, two-kinds-of-people, wisdom-quotes
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/positive-attitude
“What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity.”
― J. Sidlow Baxter
A good attitude is an asset in personal, professional life
By Jane R. Elgass
If you’ve got a good one, chances are you brighten other people’s day. If you’ve got a bad one, you may be alienating colleagues at work and even your friends. And a bad one may be costing you a promotion or appointment to a new position. It’s all about attitudes.
“Studies have shown that people want to be with those who have a good attitude,” Pam Wyess told participants in her Human Resource Development (HRD) class May 27. “In fact, for some employers, a good attitude is sometimes a more important consideration than skills. You can train for skills, but it’s difficult to work a bad attitude.”
Wyess, who learned a lot about attitudes and how they can affect one’s life during 11 years with the Ann Arbor Police Department, now shares that background with others through the HRD course, “The Choice Is Yours: An Introduction to Attitudes in the Workplace.”
http://www.ur.umich.edu/9900/May08_00/9.htm
21 Ways to Define a Positive Attitude
Just like your productivity is contagious, so is your attitude.
Are you a source of positive energy to those around you?
Or are you a downer…? Bringing all those around you down to your level of unenthusiasm?
A positive attitude can be many things.
What does a positive attitude mean to you?
Positive Attitude: Do You Have One?
http://timemanagementninja.com/2012/02/21-ways-to-define-a-positive-attitude/
How to Create a Positive Attitude BY Geoffrey James A positive attitude is never automatic. You have to work at it! Here’s how to become a master of the mind.
A positive attitude–optimism, expectancy, and enthusiasm–makes everything in business easier. A positive attitude boosts you up when you’re down and supercharges you when you’re already “on a roll.”
Here’s how to cultivate a positive attitude, regardless of what’s happening at work, based upon a conversation with Jeff Keller, author of the bestseller Attitude Is Everything:
1. Remember that YOU control your attitude.
Attitude does not emerge from what happens to you, but instead from how you decide to interpret what happens to you.
Take, for example, receiving the unexpected gift of an old automobile. One person might think: “It’s a piece of junk!” a second might think: “It’s cheap transportation,” and a third might think: “It’s a real classic!”
In each case, the person is deciding how to interpret the event and therefore controlling how he or she feels about it (i.e. attitude).
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/how-to-create-a-positive-attitude.html