The Whole World Stinks

Negativism is a foul state of mind and one we must guard against with vigilance. It’s easy to wake up in a sour mood and let that first taste of negativity contaminate our whole day. Imagine what our lives would be like if we let that bad day become a week…then a month…

“Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” — Proverbs, 4:23

For some frustrating reason, being positive takes more work than being negative. Perhaps its the world in which we live that makes it this way? Could the stresses of our modern life make it easier to descend into negativism, than it is to climb up to positivity? What ever the reason, we have to be mindful of our thoughts. I found this story which I feel conveys this sentiment beautifully:

The Whole World Stinks

Wise men and philosophers throughout the ages have disagreed on many things, but many are in unanimous agreement on one point: “We become what we think about.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.” The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius put it this way: “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” In the Bible we find: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

One Sunday afternoon, a cranky grandfather was visiting his family. As he lay down to take a nap, his grandson decided to have a little fun by putting Limburger cheese on Grandfather’s mustache. Soon, grandpa awoke with a snort and charged out of the bedroom saying, “This room stinks.” Through the house he went, finding every room smelling the same. Desperately he made his way outside only to find that “The whole world stinks!”

So it is when we fill our minds with negativism. Everything we experience and everybody we encounter will carry the scent we hold in our mind.

– Author unknown

Of course, being in a sour mood on occasion is a far cry from being a perpetual curmudgeon, but if we’re not vigilant, it can happen quicker than we realize.

“People with a positive attitude are influenced by what goes on within them. People with a negative attitude are influenced by what goes on around them.” — Keith Harrell

“A bad attitude can literally block love, blessings, and destiny from finding you. Don’t be the reason you don’t succeed.” — Mandy Hale