AFVOA Newletters of Year 2004

Page 67 of 153 (Address for Correspondence: c/o Brig NB Subramanian, T - 46B, 7 th Avenue, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600 090. Telephone: 2490 3934) What’s better than…? By Butch Jimenez Better than being negative As college students, you’re just about to set sail into the real world. As you prepare for the battleground of life, you’ll hear many speeches, read tons of books and get miles of advice telling you to work hard, dream big, go out and do something for yourself, and have a vision. Not bad advice, really. In fact, following these nuggets of truth may just bring you to the top. But as I’ve lived my life over the years, I have come to realize that it is great to dream big, have a vision, make a name, and work hard. But guess what: There’s something better than that. So my message today simply asks the question, What’s better than…? Let’s start off with something really simple. What’s better than a long speech? No doubt, a short one. So, you guys are in luck because I do intend to keep this short. Now, let me take you through a very simple math exam. I’ll rattle off a couple of equations, and you tell me what you observe about them. Be mindful of the instructions. You are to tell me what you observe about the equations. Here goes: 3 + 4 = 7, 9 + 2 = 11, 8 + 4 = 13, and 6 + 6 = 12. Tell me, what do you observe? Every time I conduct this test, more than 90 percent of the participants immediately say, 8 + 4 is NOT 13, its 12! That’s true and they are correct. But they could have also observed that the three other equations were right. That 3 + 4 is 7, that 9 + 2 is 11, and that 6 + 6 is 12. What’s my point? Many people immediately focus on the negative instead of the positive. Most of us focus on what’s wrong with other people more than what’s right about them. Examine those four equations. Three were right and only one was wrong. But what is the knee-jerk observation? The wrong equation. If 10 people you didn’t know were to walk through that door, most of you would describe those people by what’s negative about them. He’s fat. He’s balding. Oh, the short one. Oh, the skinny girl. Ahhh, ‘yung pango. Etc. Get the point? It’s always the negative we focus on and not the positive. You’ll definitely experience this in the corporate world. You do a hundred good things and one mistake-guess what? Chances are, your attention will be called on that one mistake. So what’s better than focusing on the negative? Believe me, its focusing on the positive. And if this world could learn to focus on the positive more than the negative, it would be a much nicer place to live in.