There is a wonderful old saying Leig an donaschundeiridh, a n-duil s’ nach d-tiocaidh se choidche – Leave the bad luck to the last, in hopes that it may never come.
That is just pure optimism from the Irish psyche. We Irish often forget owing to our history that we are essentially a positive people. People of all nationalities make that same mistake. As individuals we can all look more to negate the negative in favour of the positive.
Too often in life we prioritise the negative, the squeaky gate is top of the ‘to do’ list instead of going for a scenic walk. We panic the possibility of a pending health crisis and not enjoy the health we have. It’s as if we are programmed to attend to the bad stuff first – but if we left it to last it might not even arise as we fill the order of the day with positive stuff.
Part of it is how we are emotionally programmed – we dwell on the break up and sense of loss rather than the newfound freedom and the potential of a new/next relationship. That’s a shocking statement to some but it is not diminishing the love you had, it is acknowledge it, acknowledging the relationship is over and acknowledging that you deserve love again. You lose your job don’t dwell on being unemployed forever – get motivated now to find the idea job or start your own business where you will get paid for your passion. The latest kitchen experiment was an epic fail, does that mean you can never cook again. Put the negative to the end of the list and get on with the good stuff in life.
This is not burying your head in the sand and ignoring real problems, it is about not attuning to a negative bias in all situations. Sure see the dentist, talk to the doctor, explain to the bank manager but don’t fret the little stuff. So what if the toast burned, so what if the team might lose. There is more to life than worry and dread. There is good luck out there too.
So, starting off positive, ranking it first, that may occupy the space long enough to not notice the bothersome negative and fully experience the uplifting positive.
head afire 