Healthy Optimism

I do not know when exactly I realized "Attitude IS Everything", but it was a huge revelation. I have always been the "perky B*#*H in the crowd. My early life was certainly not easy, dysfunctional family life, dysfunctional marriages but my second half fro 50 on, even with it "speed bumps" has been charmed and I am forever grateful. I am financially in the poverty level but my life is full of love, laughter and wonderful family and friends . What more could I ask for? Well, Denzel Washington is taken so I guess I'm good !
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Apart from Steve (hubby) being ill I feel more content now than at any other stage in my life and I agree that a positive attitude is a great asset, after all things could always be worse and for a lot of people they certainly are, I have somewhere to live, can pay my bills and eat well plus care for my pets, my only regret is that it took me so long to
"wake up" :cool: but that's what it's all about I guess ,gotta go thru' the bad to appreciate the good :)
 
I very much agree with Maggis. For me it took moving out of the rat race and lowering my standard of living in order to retire. When I say lowering my standard of living, by that I mean, smaller home, no fancy trips and weekend shopping marathons. I have come to appreciate nature more, and taking a simple walk through the woods, feeding the wild birds/deer is balm for the spirit. Watching a Blue Herron catch a fish in the normally sleepy stream out my back door, then watching it turn into a raging river during a storm has dramatically adjusted my attitude as to what's real and important. You can't get that in a prescription bottle.

What I can't get comfortable with is what Maggis is experiencing with her hubby now. It seems it is never far from my mind how fragile life is and how it can all so very quickly change. I try to live in the moment, but truth be told, I am terrified of it. I agree that a good positive mental attitude is an important factor in the quest to stay healthy. Some people seem to PMA naturally hard wired into them, and some like me have to work on it diligently :rolleyes:
 
maggis said:
Apart from Steve (hubby) being ill I feel more content now than at any other stage in my life and I agree that a positive attitude is a great asset, after all things could always be worse and for a lot of people they certainly are, I have somewhere to live, can pay my bills and eat well plus care for my pets, my only regret is that it took me so long to
"wake up" :cool: but that's what it's all about I guess ,gotta go thru' the bad to appreciate the good :)
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Wishing the best for your hubby Maggis. :love_heart: I admire your strong and positive attitude, and appreciate all you've said here.

Ozarkgal said:
I very much agree with Maggis. For me it took moving out of the rat race and lowering my standard of living in order to retire. When I say lowering my standard of living, by that I mean, smaller home, no fancy trips and weekend shopping marathons. I have come to appreciate nature more, and taking a simple walk through the woods, feeding the wild birds/deer is balm for the spirit. Watching a Blue Herron catch a fish in the normally sleepy stream out my back door, then watching it turn into a raging river during a storm has dramatically adjusted my attitude as to what's real and important. You can't get that in a prescription bottle.
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Like you, I have a great love for mother nature, it is good for the body and soul. I never lived beyond my means, and I wouldn't have been able to retire early if I did. Most of our vacations have been camping, we buy stuff when we need it, etc. Nothing fancy with us, the simple life is really quite rewarding. :)
 
pchinvegas said:
My early life was certainly not easy, dysfunctional family life, dysfunctional marriages but my second half fro 50 on, even with it "speed bumps" has been charmed and I am forever grateful. I am financially in the poverty level but my life is full of love, laughter and wonderful family and friends . What more could I ask for? Well, Denzel Washington is taken so I guess I'm good !
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I agree, important things for happiness is love, laughter, family and friends. Glad the second half of your life is so much better, and you still have your wonderful sense of humor, LOL! :D
 
Even though my parents were strict and my father was "Eastern European Humor-less" they had to have instilled positive thinking in me from an early age, because I can't ever remember being negative in the sense of this thread.

Even when I was faced with distasters, job losses, loss of a child, packing up everything I owned (including all my animals) and moving to SoCal where I didn't know a soul, I never had negative thoughts and never understood the word "no" unless Brain Surgery or Rocket Science were involved.

I have more negative thoughts these days than I ever did in my younger years and those are driven purely by the fact that my back severely limits my physical activity. When I get too whiney, I remind myself, I'm still walking upwright with only a few pain patches and a back brace, and still shoveling horse manure, albeit at a much slower pace. Much more than some folks ten years younger may not be capable of but my need to sit down and rest all the time still tisses me off - lol lol.
 
TWH..I hear you loud and clear on the back pain issue. I don't know the meaning of the word stop and my husband likes to constantly remind me of it. Not ready to give up yet, I can still work some of the younger ones under the table, even with a bum knee and tortured back..Like you, just have to rest more frequently.

I have found that when you are in chronic pain it changes your whole personality and the way you go about things. It takes much more effort to keep up a cheerful persona, and yes...I am majorly "tissed" off (I love that word, I'll trade you that one for "farrier prince") and frustrated at times to be in this situation having been so active all my life...Also, I have to keep reminding myself and especially my hubby, because he resents getting older, and less able to do the things he wants, even more than I do. It's an uphill battle, reminding him that there are 72 year olds in nursing homes with no one to visit them...now get your butt out of that recliner and go rebuild the car engine or something..
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Also, I think people with hard physical jobs or hobbies learn early on if they want to succeed they have to bite it and keep going, maybe tomorrow will be better. This mind set has followed me all my life and I thank the horses for that, because as you know it is nothing but physical to maintain them properly, even on days when you really don't feel like it.

I'm not ready to give up and I'll never say I am!
 
^^^better said than I am capable of and agree 110%.

I was raised on an Old MacDonald's dairy farm, and was gathering/grading/candeling eggs for sale by the time I was five, so the "bite it" and just get on with it has been there almost before I could walk lol lol

I love that word, I'll trade you that one for "farrier prince"
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<----DEAL! :cheers:
 
I believe that pessimism / cynicism has gotten the short-end of the stick for too long. In fact, I'm in the running under my pen-name "Mr. Philstivus" for the position of CVO - Chief Venting Officer - for a website that specializes in rants about the workplace. I've already posted quite a few rants and videos there, but in a nutshell:

1. Venting makes you healthier

Why keep it all bottled-up inside? Doctors agree that holding in bad emotions usually make one ill. Let it out and feel better!

2. Venting makes you one of the team

If your neighbors, co-workers, etc. all vent and you stubbornly insist on being a Pollyanna, who do you think is NOT being invited to Joe's famous BBQ next July?

3. Venting proves that you recognize the REAL world

If everything is coming up roses all the time for you, you're either delusional or on some very strong medications. Complaining and ranting shows that you are realistic enough, and healthy enough, to realize that the world isn't perfect - you're simply making suggestions as to how to improve it.

By the way, if you'd like to vote for me in the election (and see a lot of nifty rants and videos to boot) you can visit WerkJerks.com, sign-up for free and get a chance at winning $500 just for voting!

Nothing to complain about there. ;)

DISCLAIMER: This endorsement paid for by the Elect Mr. Philstivus Fund. Voters must be 7 years of age or older. No warranty, spoken, written or implied, exists. Restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited. Taxes, titles and tags not included. All winnings must be claimed on your IRS income. Payola, kick-backs and bribes not included.
 
There's certainly never a lack of material to work with, that's for sure. They're constantly replacing the older, wiser, more experienced managers with the young punks who know nothing, the work-load is increasing at a dizzying pace because they're trying to save money by down-sizing, the rise in executive compensation exceeds that of worker's rates by 3:1, the customers are becoming more demanding (and in a less-than-polite way) ...

Yeah, I'd say there's something to complain about! :eek:
 
My biggest complaint in the workplace was a having boss, whose bosses boss "didn't make sense to a Jackass" and that s**t can roll downhill faster than a snowball.

Then there's the IT Group whose chest-pounding for purchasing "the best equipment while saving the company money" for the low-life secretaries was always met with "you're lucky murder is against the law".

We were responsible for keeping that Fortune 100 company looking good to outsiders, yet THEYYYY never asked us our opinions and we had to live with whatever flaws and inefficiencies were built into that equipment. Just when we got good at working around those flaws, we would receive "upgrades" - I'm not even going there, I haven't taken my BP meds yet--------------------

Glad I'm retired - if something goes wrong in my current company (the farm), there's only myself and Mr. TWHRider to blame and we all know wives are totally blameless, regardless of venue:rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
I worked as a Safety Manager for a few years for a world-wide gas production / research company, and my big complaint was always the "training smeinars" we had to attend.

Usually spaced over a two- or three-day period and held at a hotel somewhere within 50 miles, they would feature such stimulating topics as "Productivity", "Team-Building" or, my favorite, "Quality".

"Quality" became a buzzword soon after I started with the company and as a result we had to be boxed-up and shipped-off to the next Quality seminar. I was registered, scheduled and finally the big 3-day event happened, this time in the Catskill Mountains in upper NY. We got there in the middle of summer, during a particularly hot and humid stretch, and were battling black flies and mosquitoes as soon as we got out of our cars. Of course, we had car-pooled and I had the luck at that time of driving a Land Boat 6000XL, also known as a Cadillac Sedan de Ville, so I was volunteered as a driver.

My passengers consisted of (1) a guy with terminal hay fever, (2) a gal who played with the 15 pounds of make-up she had brought with her, and (3) a gentleman who obviously had tacos for breakfast and had some intestinal gas issues.

It took a little over 3 hours to get there. Hell only lasts for 2.

Actually, the bugs and the dripping humidity were a blessed relief after that drive. Right off the bat we were told by the front-desk clerk that we didn't have reservations, so that set me steaming, guy (1) sneezing, gal (2) applying her mascara furiously and guy (3) letting rip with his own aromatic opinions. After the manager was called things were straightened out and we went to our rooms. To save the company money we were bunking two to a room and I had the joy of rooming with Sneezy, aka Ah Choo. The non-working air-conditioner and the suspicious stains on the sheets were the best welcome we would get that day.

The seminar itself was, of course, totally fluff. We had a non-descript master of ceremonies who would speak at length in a monotone about "quality" ... quality management, quality employees, quality production, quality R&D. I raised my hand and asked if quality safety was going to be covered, but he said that that topic was outside the curriculum.

I was heart-broken.

So the days went on, the bug bites on my body growing larger and itchier by the hour, my water-weight loss beating anything that Oprah ever accomplished, and the ultimate reward of receiving a plastic-crystal trophy in the shape of ... a lightning bolt? A big "Z"? A stalagtite? I don't really know what it was supposed to be, but I DO know it held the room door open pretty well and allowed the rare breeze to fill the room.

The drive back home was a blur of tissues, hair spray and noxious body odors, ending only when I did a bootlegger turn at 75MPH in the company parking lot and discharged my passengers in as gracious a manner as was possible, under the circumstances.

That's when my secretary came over to me and told me about the "Innovation" worshop I was scheduled for next month ...
 
After 5 years as Bar Manager for a Country Club/Golf Course I lost my job. First time ever fired from a job ad I had been working since I was 15. About a year after I started there a young man can to work as a BUS BOY, from a Country Club in AZ. He was a hard worker, moved up fast, well liked among his coworkers. He quickly became, Dining Room Mgr, Then within a year ad a half he was Club Manager, imagine that at 24 years old, no experience.
He made it his mission to get rid of anyone who did not pucker up and kiss his young ass especially the folks who were older and more experienced. Needless to say, he was my demise after getting written up for applying chap stick behind the bar, I had to make a Bloody Mary one morning early for a Member and Guest, in order to ring the sale to his account I had to log on the computer, that clocked me in 6 minutes early !
He did however, offer to write me a letter of recommendation for another job?:mad:
 
pch, that kind of stuff is why I always stayed in manufacturing; not that politics didn't exist in that environment but it has always been much more prevalent in retail-type environments. My personality would have gotten me a jail sentence long before somebody fired me from behind the bar. I tip my hat to anyone that can tolerate that stuff because your livlihood is mostly dependent upon the tip jar. My part time and last job was as a receptionist at a local insurance company; something I also could never have tolerated in my younger years but, in this small county it was the best place to hear all the good gossip that never got into the newspaper - lol I am a much better Behind-The-Scenes person than a Front-And-Center person.


Phil, you have my deepest sympathies, you probably still have nightmares.

My own story of driving myself and three other women six hours away for two weeks of "intense training" was certainly notable but can't compete with yours. Unless the single gal sneaking out of the motel room the four of us shared "after midnight" with one or two members of that same company's baseball team counts. She didn't know they worked for the company we'd been hired into; that would be the above mentioned Fortune 100 company. Very prestigous in those days, so were our salaries and the expected behavior to go with all that - lol lol lol

Imagine her surprise when she saw her "dates" in the lunch room a few days later - lol lol lol I adored that girl, she was sweet, honest and helpful --- just a bit on the spirited side - lol lol

Our motel had our reservations, but they overbooked so there were four women who had never met, glumped into one room with 80 changes of business clothing and 60 pounds of makeup - lol lol lol

WEEE came home with an old Cocker Spaniel. By the time we drove that six hours home, the famous husband story was "locked and loaded". Nobody else honestly had room for the dog we all felt sorry for and since I was the one living on a farm---------------------:eek:nthego:


Wow I was in my mid-30's at that time and hadn't thought about that trip in many years --- thanks:D

I'll just bet you are as equally a big fan of the old ISO-9000 seminars as I was.

I might have been a low-life secretary but that did not exempt me from not only having to learn those managment practices as they applied to my side of building power generating equipment but, I also had to type the d**n things, once the engineers sobered up from writing their entire "procedure" the night before it was due to whomeever the industrial ISO Registrar was at that time.
 
The Business world is a whole new animal these days. If you have been with a company a while and moved up in pay, your a target, if you have moved up in age, your a a target and any young twit who will do what you do for less is your enemy. Good work ethics, responsible, trustworthy, loyal and hard working are things that Managers and Owners use to value. Now it's cheap, young, foolish and no benefits needed.
Good thing about being retired and going back, those young folks don't want to work too much. I can pick up hours !
 
TWHRider said:
Phil, you have my deepest sympathies, you probably still have nightmares.
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Luckily I'm pretty good at leaving that stuff where it belongs - in my ancient history - yet still have access to it for crafting stories like that. :eek:

My own story of driving myself and three other women six hours away for two weeks of "intense training" was certainly notable but can't compete with yours. Unless the single gal sneaking out of the motel room the four of us shared "after midnight" with one or two members of that same company's baseball team counts. She didn't know they worked for the company we'd been hired into; that would be the above mentioned Fortune 100 company. Very prestigous in those days, so were our salaries and the expected behavior to go with all that - lol lol lol
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I would say her actions with the team were based on balls, but that would just be wrong ...

I'll just bet you are as equally a big fan of the old ISO-9000 seminars as I was.
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Wow - talk about repressed memories - thank you! :D

Great story!
 

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