The Two Views of Life

I sometimes wonder if I come a little bit too close to talking about myself all the time in this blog. The idea was to talk about myself on Mondays and then the rest of the world on Wednesdays but I sometimes wonder if I cross the two over a little bit too much. Today's post dances nicely along the line between the two as well but then again I'm going to (try to) avoid talking about myself too much! Monday's post wasn't one of my best because I actually felt a little bit drained after the weekend. Not that it was particularly taxing but I certainly think that having a good time can tire you out. Call me stupid but when you're having a good time you're inevitably going to be using more energy than when you aren't - it follows a fairly coherent line of thought if you ask me. After what was an awesome weekend I felt lethargic and to a certain extent I still do. I think I'll go back to being unenthusiastic for a few days to see if I can get my mojo back - or maybe I'll just start going to my bed earlier! Today's post is all about the two ways that you can look at everything we do in life. In one of last week's posts I talked about the difference between policy and operational decisions and today I'm going to talk about another two-sided thing - who needs tripartite concepts when all you need is 2?

We all have these times when you are either really looking forward to something or you are really dreading something. The kind of things that I am referring to in today's post are those things that you look forward to from both points of view, depending on how you are feeling. Take for example a gig/concert. The prospect of seeing your favourite band live and getting up close to them is something to really look forward to and you know that it is going to be great. However on the other hand, the prospect of having to get to the gig and home again and the fact that your ears are going to be ringing for days after makes you look forward to it less. Most of the time you will be quite passive about the annoying things because you know that it is going to be great night but then again there are times when you let the negative aspects of things get you down. Everything can be viewed (and are always viewed) in the same way.

Take a second to think of any big upcoming events that you have planned. It could be a short holiday over Easter, flat-hunting or something seemingly awful such as an exam diet - you will look at all of these things in a similar way. An example for me ('this isn't Monday!' I hear you cry) is that I'm trying to find a flat just now and the process is a frustrating and tedious one and can often get you down. But on the other hand, the prospect of moving into the flat and living there next year excites me. I sometimes let the bad side of this get on top of me when I'm feeling a little down but the majority of the time I look at it from the sunny side of the road and really look forward to finding a flat. I can even do that with exams. I don't enjoy exams by any means and I'm sure there are very few people that do, but instead to getting myself down about them I look at them from the point of view that I have to do them - I might as well try and take the positives from the stuff that I have to do to prepare for them. There are very few occasions in life when looking at the negatives of something can be a good thing. By taking the positives out of everything that you do (no matter how much you feel you hate something) can only help you to get through it and, dare I say, enjoy it.

Have you ever sat in bed at night, not able to get to sleep, listing all of the things in your head that you have coming up that need done? I used to do it all the time and still do it occasionally but I realised that it was only serving to make me miserable. The kind of things that I mean are assignments that are due, exams, having to go to an appointment, doing a presentation, having to travel somewhere - basically the things that you don't do on a daily basis that only come around every few weeks. When you do list all of those things in your head you feel your heart sinking and subsequently you end up waking up the next morning with it fresh in your head. Instead of looking at those things from a negative point of view, try and take the positives out of them and then list those in your head. After doing that I find myself getting up in the morning and knowing what needs done instead of moping around until it's time to go to bed again. Carpe diem is a phrase that applies here as much as anywhere else - the best way to seize the day is by being positive.

 As a teenager you sometimes don't get a choice as to how you are feeling about stuff. Mood swings are just something that have to be dealt with and that can be done by not piling everything on to your own shoulders. Cut everything down into small chunks and then look at those in the most positive way you can and you should become more enthusiastic about things you apparently don't like, more productive and I also believe you'll become a happier person.

Now all I have to do is practice what I preach and you should give it a go and see how you get on as well. Things like planning your day/week will help but having a good word with yourself is really the only way forward.

Thanks for reading, 

Martin