Staying Positive: Just Let it Go

In today's world, it seems that everyone has a chip on his shoulder. People complain about everything, from having to wait 2 minutes in the drive-thru to missing our favorite television show because of a presidential speech. We even complain when other people get the success that we so desperately want - I've heard more complaints in the last two days about people being in the Top Rated section here at AC than I care to count. With all this negativity around, it's hard to stay positive and cheerful.

And I understand. I've had bad days when I am completely miserable, and I want it to be somebody else's fault. I lash out at the people I love, I yell at the cashier at the grocery store, I vent in the forums here at AC. But the fact of the matter is that no matter what is going on, it's rarely anyone's fault, and even if it is, I still have the power to control my reactions to the world around me.

If you didn't get any sleep last night, it isn't really the fault of the neighbors who had the loud party. Yes, they should have been more considerate, but can you honestly say that you've never been loud in the middle of the night when people were trying to sleep? Have you never had a moment when you tossed aside the feelings of others in favor of having a little fun yourself? I'm willing to bet that you have. So don't carry around a grudge all day because you're tired. It's not that big of a deal, we've all been there. And it certainly isn't the fault of the guy who accidentally cut you off in traffic this morning because he almost missed his exit. He didn't deserve to be flipped off and honked at. Just let it go.

If you are having a bad hair day and you burned your toast and your favorite white shirt is now pink because somebody threw a red sock in the wash, it isn't really anybody's fault. Not even your own. It's not the fault of the hairdresser that cut your hair last week. It's not the fault of the toaster, or the company who made the toaster. It's not the fault of your five-year-old who thought he was helping by throwing the socks into the washer. Sometimes bad things happen, and sometimes all those bad things pile up together and happen all on the same day. There's no need to dwell on it - a negative attitude will not solve anything, and will only make your day even worse than it already is. Just let it go.

If you see that someone has 9 articles on the Top Rated list here at AC, don't automatically assume that they've somehow cheated their way to the top. They probably didn't. Yes, some people have broken ratings buttons, but the majority of CPs here wouldn't dream of cheating. It is highly possible, and actually quite probable, that the person simply had 9 or 10 articles go live all at once, and their subscribers rated all of their articles highly. If that happened, of course all of those articles would reach the Top Rated section at the same time. And to be perfectly frank, even if that person was cheating somehow, does it really matter? All the complaining and negativity in the world is not going to make them change their ways, and it's not going to make AC change the ratings system overnight. So focus on your own work, and leave other people alone. Promote your content, draw the pageviews, get noticed, and stop worrying so much about other people's pettiness. Just let it go.

Being negative only makes things worse for yourself and those around you. Problems are never solved by complaining, and you will not feel better if you take out your frustrations on everyone you see. In fact, it will only make you feel worse. Be proactive. If there is a recurrent problem in your life, try to come up with a positive solution. Don't just sit around complaining with a "woe is me" attitude. It will not help. If there is no solution to the problem, or if you are powerless to correct the problem, just accept things the way they are and move on to bigger and better things.

Take a deep breath and say it with me: "Just let it go." There, now doesn't that feel better?