Negativity. I'm over it. It's everywhere. I've tried to live my life with a fairly positive outlook, and approach everything optimistically. I know I'm not always perfect with it (sometimes things just go awry). I also have to admit, as I go through this blog, that I've been guilty of many of these things, and I likely will be again. For that, I am sorry for past and future transgressions. Let's be real, I'm not perfect.
I also want to be clear in saying that no one person or one incident has prompted this blog. It's kinda the amalgamation of many posts on facebook, and stories from people I know both directly and second and third person. I'm not calling anyone out. I supposed this could be seen as somewhat passive-aggressive, and I know some of you will feel like I'm talking directly to you. I am not. I. AM. NOT! I just realised that in writing this blog I am partaking in a bit of negativity. I'm not trying to be negative, but I am venting.
Let's be real, we all think we're right. Of course I think that in posting these, I am helping people by guiding them toward, maybe, a bit more positivity. I love my life. Bad s#*t happens to me from time to time. Occasionally I feel like it's my fault, and occasionally I feel like I'm a victim of circumstance, but in my head, I always felt like it would work out in the end. There's a saying that goes when God closes a door, he opens a window (or when one door closes, another opens). I've tried to live by this mantra, and it's always worked for me (it was never harder than when waiting for a job offer over this past summer).
We all have that friend (or more than one) who never seems content at work. It's always a boss who's out to get them, or a co-worker that's clearly sabotaging them. We've all had terrible bosses. We've all worked with those guys (or gals) who seem to be out for no one but themselves. It's so easy in those situations to run away or delegate blame to someone else. I realise it's so easy to quit, but then the cycle seems to begin anew. You find a job you like at first, rave about it to your friends, and then within a couple of months... a co-worker's out to get you, or your boss gives you more work or is more critical of you. Often times, this person doesn't go to the boss to simply ask, "Why?" or, "What can I do to fix this?", this person sits and stews and complains to co-workers. It's hard to shoulder blame, especially when it's hard to find how you could be to blame. However, looking at it as a means for improvement, rather than simply bailing seems to make it better...
The other thing that's bothered me for a long time (and I have DEFINITELY been guilty of) is deciding how terrible something (especially a sequel to a movie/book or a follow-up album) is, and then telling people who like that that they're of a lesser intelligence than you because they like it. WHAT?! I LOVED "The Dark Knight Rises." I have friends and acquaintances on facebook who love it, and many who hate it. Oddly... no one who's apathetic. Point being, my opinion differs from you. Additionally, I don't have to compare its merits to its predecessor. Admittedly, the later Harry Potter books didn't hold up to Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, but book seven was still excellent. I'm not going to change anybody's mind here, I realise, but it's the same problem I have with political discourse in the country. Do we forget that others have different opinions and can?! Before this becomes a Liberal-Conservative debate, let's be clear... everyone is guilty of this in at least some capacity. It makes others feel AWFUL when you put your foot down with the "I'm right, you're wrong" stance. This is not arguing that some facts are facts and aren't really open for debate, but many things (my feelings on "The Dark Knight Rises", for example) are a matter of opinion. If you're going to be one of those people whose opinion cannot be changed, and you belittle others whose opinions differ from yours, you'll gradually find yourself lonely. I have cut a metric ton of those people out of my life in the last decade, and am glad I don't feel the need to do that again.
Okay, I wasn't going to admit this, but I suppose I will. What really, really precipitated me finally getting these thoughts down on (virtual) paper is the fact that this weekend is the Bristol night race in Tennessee. Yeah, NASCAR. The newer generation of fans has pissed and moaned about the racing recently. Admittedly, there have been more long runs under green, but there's been good passing, and great racing. You know what's missing? WRECKS! I have to admit, yeah, the wrecks are exciting, but frankly I was more excited to watch Jr. go under Jeff Gordon to make it four wide at Michigan last week. I REALLY loved watching Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose race as hard as I've ever seen anyone race at Watkins Glen the week before. They bumped, yeah, the leaned on each other (as Keselowski put it) but they raced HARD. Had one of them wrecked (as Kyle Busch unfortunately did. It'd have been a hell of a race with three of the greatest drivers in the world fighting for that position) and had their car disabled, and the caution thrown... we'd have been deprived of that. Be honest. If you LOVE wrecks, tell us. Don't call it "bad racing".
Okay... Like I said, I've been guilty of many of these things. I apologise to anyone who's been offended by something I said. I want to re-state that there is no one person who I am thinking of as I write this. It's just some stuff that's been weighing on my mind for the last bit. Thank you all, again, for reading. I'm more than open to discourse through facebook, twitter, or email- on any topic. Take care of yourselves!
