Examine Your Surroundings

I hear many times during the work week people at issue with their job or life that is going on around them. To listen you would wonder how it is that they struggle to even get up in the morning to face the world. But as I listen it strikes me that they seem to have a few things in common.

One is that they have this perpetual wallowing in self doubt and complaining of their surroundings. I've always wondered why they remain within that constant cycle of life. Maybe it would be better to simply step back. Look at your life, 'examine your surroundings' and begin to understand what influences are around you.

Now is the time to figure out what is happening in your world that forever holds you back. Change things in your life...maybe a different radio station...maybe a different route to work...maybe just a determination to change your own attitude.

Those influences in your life are very powerful in a subtle way. Do you congregate with friends that are alway down on things? Try meeting more positive people and not to bring your troubles and pains to them. But to listen and catch the spirit of their life.

I've always felt the old adage that tell me your sad story and I'll tell you a hundred sadder stories. What happens to you, to me or to others is life. Life itself is an influence on us and how we choose to respond is up to us.

I have a wide range of musical taste and normally listened to rock stations on the way to and from work. I found myself becoming a much more aggressive driver. Racing to be ahead of the other 20 or 30 thousand cars on the freeway. The driving habits of others would push me to the point of complete irritation. And I found my work day starting out in a bad way and coming home I was wound so tight, the transition to home life was difficult at best.

For me it was a matter of changing radio stations. I found the local NPR (National Public Radio) station (www.npr.org or www.wabe.org) and began listening to morning news. Political persuasion aside, the news provided was much more calming. Afternoon drives are filled with classical music and it certainly helps me unwind much better.

The point being, I examined one part of my life and made a change. I made the choice to change my life and attitude which in turn effected others around me. Examine your surroundings, make a change in your life, enjoy the results.