On my 18th birthday, my dad gave me 2 books and said, keep these with you for the rest of your life. Book #1 was “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, and book #2 was “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale. Over the summer after my 18th birthday, I read these books as he instructed, but have to admit that was 21 years ago so the details are a little cloudy. Also at the time of originally reading these books, I was much more interested in getting ready for my first semester of college and all the other things that you do when you have just gotten out of high school.
So while I was picking out books to read this year, I put both of these back on my list, and last week I started rereading “The Power of Positive Thinking.” It is very unique how this book now gives me a totally different perspective on things and plays so much more of a role in my everyday thinking. What I had forgotten was how many references there were in this book to prayer as being the common ingredient in positive thinking and how you really set your mind to think positive when there is a proper balance of asking God for help in your daily routine of being positive.
Maybe the piece that is hitting the closest to home for me today is where it talks about how to deal with people who aren’t treating you right and aren’t being fair to you. To summarize the chapters, it says to be positive and appreciate them even though they are not doing the same to you. Why this hits home is I am watching my daughter go through 2nd grade and see how some people choose to treat her and the nervous energy that it is causing. Just like every parent, I think my daughter is so unique in that she is incredibly smart, beautiful, and has a great sense of humor. As I watch her go through these steps of life and see some friends be mean just for the sake of doing what kids do, it creates a rage that I want to go find the parents and smack them around and show them who is tougher. In life and my career, I have gone toe to toe with some pretty rough individuals and – not that I have a fighting complex – but really have developed the confidence that I am not afraid of anyone or anything.
But as I read this book, it is teaching me to not think that way because it simply isn’t positive. Sure, I could crush these kids’ parents like a fly. But what I need to do is every time something bothers me about the way other kids are treating my daughter, I need to pray for her and pray for them. This week, while traveling all week away from home, I have thought many times about my little girl and prayed that she is having a day of peace and prayed for those who are not giving her peace. It is a different mindset for me, as many people who know me in work and in life know that there is usually more chaos than peace in my wake. I say all this to give myself a written reminder that the next time some kid is ugly to my little girl, my first thought cannot be to go grab the kid’s dad by the throat and scare the crap out of him. The next time this happens I hope that the feeling of peace will come over me again and keep my thinking positive.