Trying to develop a better outlook on life.

It’s been an interesting week. As the semester gets closer to the end, I am eagerly awaiting the chance for a change. I find myself, as I do each year, going back and forth with my eagerness to complete the task at hand and move on, and coming to the realization that it’s going to be another closed chapter in my life.

Earlier this week, I came to a humbling realization. I need to develop a better outlook on life. It’s funny how life changing things can be so simple, and yet, if you haven’t really been in tune with yourself, you can miss the forest for the trees.

The other day, I was in a class that I take on leadership. And we were talking about stressful situations that we all find ourselves in, and how to deal with them. When the topic came around to me, I went on about my job, as I am prone to do, and then went on a rant about various things I don’t like about my job. Whether it’s the people, or the environment, but when I was done, I realized that I went a bit too far, and perhaps needed to stop, and reevaluate my situation before I proceed even further.

I want to have a positive outlook on life. However I fear based on past experiences that I may be quickly devolving into someone who is not at all pleasant to be around because all he does is find reasons to bitch about one thing or another. I find this to be a trait in others I personally cannot stand, and yet, I fear I could be one of those people. (A truly humbling thought)

I am sorry for the tirade in class the other day. I’m sure the other students may not even give it another thought, but I went too far, and didn’t intend what I said. I really love my job. I love working in radio. It’s an interesting job in which we can entertain, inform, and provide all kinds of information to people. Quite a versatile medium, and where I work, being locally owned and operated has provided me with more freedom to work on the craft of radio than you would get in a corporate setting. (Being locally owned and operated is a rare thing these days)

I don’t know if I’ll always work in radio as it’s not a very profitable position (at least where I am now) and that’s just a fact of life. But I do enjoy it, and like working with the people, even if I forget to remember that some days.

Several friends of mine at the University of Findlay are working on a positive message campaign, and what they are doing is promoting the message of Keeping Positive and then passing it on. The idea being that if you are positive, that can rub off on others, and the message spreads, much like ripples on a pond. Is it cliché? Who cares? It’s a good message that needs to be told these days.

I really don’t want to be the guy people avoid because he’s always on about one thing or another in a negative way, so I’m making an effort to curtail some of my attitudes which have developed over the past, and finding a more positive outlook. I would encourage all of you to do the same.

I don’t usually hawk things, but if you read this, please follow @UF_Keepositive on twitter as they could use the feedback, and make an effort to find some positive insight. A beautiful sunrise, a weird squirrel, a letter from a friend, or an interesting story. Tag #keepositive on twitter and share stories on Facebook. 

It can’t hurt. You’d be surprised how something so small can mean so much.

Good news is out there. The problem is that we are not looking for it.

People amuse me. Sometimes, there is no comparison to human dignity and kindness, and many other times, I am amazed at how people react to much of the absurdity of life.

People, who know me, know that I am amused at those who like to claim that there is no good news in the world. They see the world as a smorgasbord of sickness, crime, corruption and hate, and then lament how there is nothing good. I take an exception to this. I contend that the view that there is nothing but bad news in the world is more of a reflection of us rather than the news.

If you feel like there isn’t any good news, it might be because you are only seeing what you want to see, which is more of a reflection on your worldview rather than the news itself. Case in point;

I run the social networks at the station I work at. Doing this (for no pay) has allowed me to get a glimpse into how many of us react to things on an everyday basis. Over that time, I’ve noticed that stories which are considered “bad” in nature (crime, courts, accidents) get more comments, likes and shares than those that are “good” (community events, kids etc.) and many times this is an absurdly amount more.

In the last week, we posted to our networks a number of stories which are considered to be not as hard hitting, and perhaps even “good”. Stories included pictures from the county Easter Egg hunt, our all night call in request show, a visit that the boy scouts took to our station and a retirement announcement for a longtime county official.

All these are good stories, and while they got some traction online, compared to other news they were merely drops in the bucket. Three stories in particular got my attention. A car rolled onto its top in the City of Kenton a couple of weeks ago, the Amish hearing on whether they should be forced to install modern septic systems, and today, a report of a shoplifter at Ace Hardware who was unfortunate enough to get caught on video.

Nothing earth shattering, nor really outside of the ordinary, but to see the reaction online, you’d think each one of these stories were the hardest hitting pieces of news you’ve ever seen. Shares, comments, and the nature of the comments astound me. I also love how people will inevitably see stories like this and resort to sayings like “Only in Kenton” or “Man, this town is going downhill fast” which makes no sense whatsoever when you see the other stories that get covered.

Seriously, there is good news out there. Some of us make efforts to showcase it, and report on it. It exists. I take exception to those who claim there is no good news. That’s a reflection of your values more than the news itself.

An interesting thought isn’t it?