Society's Dependence on Convenience

I have decided that our society has grown LAZY.  Myself included.  The other night after the kids were in bed and dishes were done, the house was quiet and I debated about what I should do in my hour of heaven (the hour after the kids are in bed).  Go run on the treadmill, I thought to myself.  Oh man, did that appeal to me!  I have it set up in my house, my work out clothes were clean and ready to go, and I seriously needed to run out the disappointment I felt from my poor test score earlier in the day.  But I didn't.  With all those incentives, I didn't.

Why?

O.K. you can't make fun of me.  Pinky swear that you won't ridicule me?

Good.

I didn't want to put on my running shoes. 
Yes, I wanted to run, I wanted to do something hard and physical.  However the complicated task putting on socks and tying my shoes changed my mind. 

That my friends is laziness. 

We have become a result oriented people obsessed with getting the quickest results in the easiest way possible, and are unwilling to put forth any real effort.  How Sad!  We excel at creating new technologies that advance our living conditions, but I'm afraid that we forget what really disappears with all of these conveniences; AMBITION

The remote control, the microwave, netflix; we have let all of these conveniences get the best of us.  Remember when we used to watch the credits at the beginning of movies?  Or if you wanted to learn something you would spend an afternoon in the library searching topics and titles?  Now Siri and Google answer all of our whims within seconds, with minimal effort on our part. L.A.Z.Y

What has this done to our society?

It has weakened our work ethic.  We do not want to work for things anymore.  We look for alternatives to work, instead of rolling up our sleeves and getting the job done.  Sometimes we even spend more time looking for easier solutions than it would have taken to Just Do It.  Our children are being taught about new technologies, and they are grasping on to them even faster than we did, but we are neglecting to teach them our own history of working hard and achieving goals that take time and dedication. 

With all of the advancements that make life easier we soften.  Our critical thinking skills crumble.  Our persistence weakens.  I am seriously afraid the fictional characters from the Disney movie Wall-E are our near future.

 

We need to slow down.  We must bring back the skills and traditions that made us prosperous in the first place; ambition, diligence, patience, etc.  The lack of patience has especially become a grand problem in our society.  We want.  We want it now.  When we don't get it now we get frustrated, and angry, then hate grows.  We have these expectations of how we want our experiences to go, namely fast and NOW, and we've let those expectations become more important than the people we interact with.  You hear stories every day about people who get in conflicts over things like their order not being correct, or fast enough.  It's only going to get worse unless we do something about it.  This is a case where I believe the small and simple things will bring forth great things.  That's where we start.  With the small and simple. 

 

 

So get out there people and do something about it.  Unless the Wall-E lifestyle appeals to you.  Then to you I say,

 

 



Food for Thought

This morning I was out working in my garden.  It's one of my favorite spaces.  My thoughts and plants grow simultaneously as I work.

Today my thoughts were caught up on the ability to grow vegetables vs. weeds.  I try, and try, and try, to get my cucumbers to grow.  But I have yet to produce a good cucumber plant.  They very same night that they sprout up, they are gobbled up by ravenous creeping things.

As for the weeds, I put absolutely no effort in to growing them, in fact I put a lot of effort in to preventing them, and yet they still seem to pop up over night and thrive.  They can grow where there is no water.  They grow in the rocks.  They grow anywhere and everywhere. 

Why is it SO hard to be successful at growing and harvesting good crops, yet so easy to grow weeds? 

I want to relate this to our thoughts.  The ability to be happy and have good thoughts takes constant work.  You must be proactive.  The moment you relent negativity flourishes.

The one thing I noticed in the garden was that the weeds just sprout up on their own. Plants, however need to be purchased and planted.  It's the same with our thoughts.  Negative thoughts pop into our head all the time.  They just do.  They are random and rampant. 

Positive thoughts also have to be "purchased" and "planted".  By being purchased I mean the desire has to be there.  We need to want it. We have to make that choice.  Then we need to plant the seed of positivity.  There are many ways we can do this; looking on the bright side, giving people the benefit of the doubt,  choosing to smile instead of frown. 

Instead of nurturing the negative, we need to start nourishing the positive and then let it bloom. 

If a weed can grow in uncultivated soil, or even rock, then think of how well it would grow if it were watered and maintained.  It is the same with negativity.  We have to push out those negative thoughts as they arise, and not give them a chance to root. 

Our society has taken a liking to finding fault, and sharing it with the world.  We like to fuel the fire of negativity. 

Pointing fingers has no benefits. 

Putting others down gets you no where. 

It just multiples misery. 

But I know that kindness heals.  Our choices matter, and if we choose kindness we can make a difference.  We can teach others by example.  And if nothing else, we will be happier.  So my challenge to you is to give positivity a try.  Cultivate kindness.  See the difference it makes in your life.  Then please share your experience.  You can share it with me at focusedonthepositive@gmail.com and I'd be happy to post it on the blog.  I will be trying my best as well.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Good luck!


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Metamorphasis

Scrawny, awkward, buck toothed, pale, shy.

That was me.

I remember people commenting on how "skinny" I was from the time I was a little, little girl.  I remember having the desire to disappear, to be invisible.  I started slouching and hunching over around 5.  I'd give up on things quickly, or ask for help right away because I didn't think I was capable.  Normal "fun" things for other kids were not fun to me.   

Jump down from a rock?  Nope.  I'll sit and slide myself down, thank you very much.  Jump off the swings?  First off, I'll swing only at a safe, comfortable height, then slowly come to a stop and gently step off.  I always chose the safest route. 

People also scared me.  My brother used to bring home "friends" for me to play with because I was so shy.  I wouldn't play on a playground if other kids were there, I'd just sit and watch until the coast was clear.  However, I did make friends. I was likeable, just unconfident. 

That was the case through out school.  Elementary, Junior High, and High School.  I was a "nice"girl.  I blended in to the background well.  The slouching got worse when I got braces and headgear in my already terrible teen/tween years. (I still have nightmares about the headgear, no joke)  I looked out for the little guy, and longed to be anyone but me.  I was comfortable with a few, who could get my giggly, goofy side out; but froze in front of the rest of the population.  I was quiet and polite, a perfect little girl.  I never caused trouble.  I was content to just sit and be quiet. 

My one outlet was music. I didn't realize it until recently, but as a kid I'd go in my room, shut the door, turn up the music and figuratively sing my heart out.  It was like a nice was of shouting, without anyone knowing. 

That was me. 

This is me. 

I will be 35 in a couple of months, and I finally, finally feel comfortable in my own skin.  For the first time in my life I don't feel the need to be valued from outside sources.  I don't feel like that scared little 5 year old girl in a grown up body.  I don't really care what others think of me, and it's entirely freeing. 

Since I have let go of my hang ups I have realized few things about myself; I am smart.  I am capable.  I can do hard things.  I don't need others to like me in order to like myself. 

 

Most Importantly:

****I was the one holding myself back***

Once I let go of my fear I became empowered.  I became a new person.  I metamorphasized.  (I know, that's not a word, but it fits.)   Life is much better when you like yourself, and you believe in yourself.  When you can depend on yourself instead of others for personal happiness.     

 

So if you are not where you would like to be; if you have your own five-year-old-girl complex of some kind, don't worry.  You can beat it.  It took me almost 35 years.  But its do-able and it's worth it.  Just like the seed is capable of becoming the tree, you are capable of becoming what you desire. 

 

Don't be the thing holding you back. 

 

We don't get to choose how we start, but we are in charge of how we end up.