InfiniteTides

Hello.  My name is Keith, and I’m an attention whore.  It’s been five minutes since my last status update or tweet seeking the attention I long for.  Obviously I’m not being completely serious.  It’s probably been closer to thirty minutes since I’ve posted something.  I understand that people may perceive me as someone constantly seeking attention (at least online).  What they may not also grasp is that there’s something inside each of us that seeks validation, recognition that we are important to someone else in our lives.  Sure, some of us take it too far with our goofy Facebook avatars, corny status updates, and off-the-wall blog posts, but for the most part, it’s only a small part of our overall personalities that makes us do these things.

I wonder why we do that, why we look so hard at our overall personality, for one trait we think will describe the dominant side (as though there is one) of our being.  I see quiz results on Facebook telling people what color, soda pop, sports team, and vegetable (no offense to the handicapped) they are.  All of us wonder what other people think about us.  It’s human nature to do so.  I frequently find myself not posting status updates and comments to friends’ walls because I don’t want to give the impression (probably too late!) that I’m someone who constantly needs to be the center of attention.  The truth of the matter is that I post a lot, because I’m online and bored a lot.  (I am Keith’s defensiveness.)  In the offline world, I could easily go days without speaking to anyone, especially at work.  I’m not a social butterfly, but I play one on the interwebs.

Our emotions often drive what we are thinking though we would like to believe it’s the other way around.  I don’t recall who first said it, but humans are emotional beings who think, not thinking beings who emote (and use smileys).  If you don’t believe me, just consider what happens when we get upset.  We often say things we don’t mean.  We lash out at people we love.  Our emotions flood our brains, and we stop thinking about the consequences of our words (and maybe even our actions).  Our emotions drive our thoughts about what others think of us, thereby driving our behavior in ways we might not even realize, like how often we post on Facebook or Twitter.

Each of us has just about every personality trait under the sun within us in varying amounts.  It’s rare that one of these traits actually dominates all of the others.  As human beings, we like to pigeon-hole everything.  We subconsciously classify and categorize everything and everyone.  Whether we like it or not, whether we know it or not, our emotions are attached to, or even direct this classification.  It’s why we feel nostalgic about inanimate objects.  Emotions are often attached to memories of just about everything and everyone.

I suppose I’m off the track a bit.  What I’m getting at is this, everyone is/can be/has been in pursuit of attention from someone (maybe it’s your cat’s aloofness that’s pissing you off).  So please don’t judge me too harshly when I spam your Facebook wall or Twitter feed with my witlessisms.  With that said, I need to find a cabin in the woods somewhere that has internet, because with this post, I’m seriously off the wagon.

Sometimes it’s the little things that make me happy.  This morning my productivity level was off the charts.  I made bread, ran the dishwasher, and trimmed my fingernails.  Having nice, tidy, short fingernails makes me happy, because when my nails are short, the keyboard feels perfect on my fingertips.  More importantly, I make fewer typos after trimming them, and I loathe my typos.

Do you have that one little thing that just makes you bubble with a quiet sort of happiness?  Maybe your thing is eating a marshmallow cereal with blueberries.  Oh wait, that’s another one of mine.  Any way, do that little happiness thing and smile with the knowledge that you have that one thing you can count on to make you feel good.  While you’re at it (or shortly thereafter), why not share that little happiness thing with your friends.  Chances are good that they will smile too.

On Procrastination Street, the trash is collected twice per week for those who either forget which day is trash day or who otherwise just can’t seem to get it around in time.  On Procrastination Street, the postal service only delivers on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, because they understand that some of us just can’t be bothered to check or don’t want mail every day.  It’s too much effort for too little reward.  It should go without saying that packages are delivered every day, because no one wants to wait for packages.  Beginning 15 days before a bill is due, daily reminders get sent via email, voice mail, and text message, to pay these bills.  Grass heights are carefully monitored by sophisticated sensors involving lasers (I don’t fully understand the technology, I just report).  When grass reaches a preset height, home owners begin receiving electronic notification that they will need to mow their lawn within 4 days or a local lawn care service will automatically be contracted to take care of it (all charges to the home owner, of course).  Homes built on Procrastination street are equipped with in-sink dishwashers.  Nightly (or on a preset schedule), a dome descends and forms a hermetic seal over this special sink, and all dishes within are automatically washed and sanitized.  Obviously household vacuuming is performed by a squad of Roombas, small robots, scheduled to sweep up at least once per week.  On this street, networked refrigerators send messages reminding of impending shortages of cold essentials such as milk, eggs, and beverages.

On Procrastination Street, blogs would not give their authors a Delete button.  Drafts not posted within 4 hours from the first auto-save would be published automagically.  Obviously, this is just a dream!

**Procrastination Street is not a real place (that I know of).  Do not plan to move there.  Do not search for it on the Google Maps.  It only exists in my warped imagination (and now yours).

In high school baseball, if our coach heard us swear, if we didn’t hustle, if he thought we weren’t working hard enough, he would make us run.  He called this extra running “AA” for Attitude Adjustment.  Needless to say, I ran far more AA than anyone else on the team.  It was a point of pride for me that the coach couldn’t change my attitude (of course he was going about it all wrong).  That was over 20 years ago, and I think I’ve matured a little since then.

A few years ago, a great and wise man, shortly after having attended a seminar, imparted these words to me (and I’m 99% sure I’m mucking them up a bit): “You can’t control most of what happens in life, but you do have control over your attitude, and that is 99% of the control you need to be happy.”  This was some time ago, and after reading what I just typed, I’m 99% sure that’s not exactly what he said, but I think it’s close so I’m gonna go with that.

Our individual attitudes ARE something we each can control.  When I first heard this, I argued against it until I was blue in the face.  As it often turns out, I was completely wrong.  We don’t need to let our attitude reflect those of others.  We can change our attitude as a matter of choice.  For instance, last night at work, an operator in the press room decided he wasn’t going to perform a go/no-go inspection on the parts he was running, because, in his words, “no one else cares, so why should I?”  This is a laziness of mind that I cannot fathom.  The dearth of logic in that statement, the utter lack of comprehension that perhaps if HE cared, someone else might see that and DECIDE to care as well, boggles my mind.  The fact that someone can seemingly recognize that they are consciously CHOOSING to not care underscores my point that this attitude is a choice.

I used to think that people who always look on the bright side are a little nuts, like they must be part of a cult or something.  Now, it seems completely normal and natural to focus on the good things, on the positive that is to be found in every situation.  The more aware I am of my own attitude, the easier it is to concentrate on keeping it positive and not getting bogged down with all of bad news and negativity going on in life and the world around me.

Understanding also that our attitudes influence others is also important.  When you speak to other people in a positive way, emphasizing what’s good and minimizing what’s bad, it does affect their own attitude.  I can’t tell you how many times at work someone has brought a problem to me, and they are frustrated and worried.  When you put a positive spin on it, tell them it’s good that they discovered the problem, that we can fix it, that you will help them get it fixed, it’s remarkable at how their attitude improves just from being made aware that we are in this together.  Some people just need a little help seeing the bright side, seeing what’s good about something bad.  I used to snicker in my head (yes, I can do that!) when I would see motivational posters on management’s walls (actually I still think they are funny).  Now, I have an understanding of what those posters attempt to convey to people whose minds are receptive.  All you have to do is perceive obstacles as opportunities, as challenges you can and will overcome.

Change your attitude a little bit for the better, and you’ll find it’s a slippery slope.  You’ll like how you feel and how you think.  Concentrate a little bit each day on what’s good, and pretty soon, the bad stuff won’t seem so bad.  My attitude is still a work in progress, but it’s getting better every day.