By John Coston
According to Webster's New World Dictionary, which I use to find my Word of the Day, which you can find Monday through Friday on www.facebook.com, (Shameless Plug plus a run on sentence to end all run on sentences---Call me Butter because I'm on a Roll!!), the definition of energy is a force of expression; inherent power; capacity for action; the capacity for doing work. In my opinion, energy can determine your mood, motivation, speed of action, and many other items that shape our world. I have been stuck on this word because, this week, I had two drastically different conversations with some people who demonstrated a substantial difference in energy.
The first person, an older woman who I work with, trapped me for a brief period in her web of negative energy. Being the courteous individual that I am {apologies to family members I terrorize to this day :) }, I asked her how she was doing. She proceeded to go into this 12 minute (I counted) diatribe about how much the job sucks, how management is stupid, and how the world just wants to "f$%k you in the a$$ without Vaseline and smear the semen in your face!!" I cant make that one up if I tried. I tried to be friendly and say something positive. But she would counter with more negativity and, to make matters worse, I found myself getting caught up in that negative energy! I was starting to talk ignorantly. I realized what was happening, and I politely excused myself from the conversation. The woman was so full of negativity that she didn't want to hear anything positive from me or anyone else. I can't deal with that kind of energy. Constant talk of failure will suck the life out of you if you let it!!
Now the second person that I talked to, a guy my age, came up to me asking questions about some job processes. That conversation turned into a 10 minute back and forth exchange concerning goal setting, accomplishments and just the desire to do better. The guy had been a barber all of his life. He decided to go back to school to become a pharmacist (Legal, not street ya weirdos!) because he has always been interested in the field and he wants to set a better example for his 3 kids. I was fascinated by all of this because I could feel nothing but good, positive energy coming from this cat! That's the type of energy that I want to be surrounded by!! The dude said he has had setbacks but realized that, as long as he "maintains his smile," everything will be alright! Those are words to live by right there.
I have had to cut people off in my life because of the energy they brought around me. I admit that there have been times in my life when I haven't been the friendliest person to be around. My existence has always been based on energy. I strive to keep my energy positive every day because 1.) It keeps me friendly and outgoing and 2.) It saves me from choking out folks who deserve it!! Bottom line, if you think life sucks (negative energy) or you think the world is your oyster (positive energy), either way, you are right!
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