You get to choose

“Choose to be optimistic. It feels better.”

Dalai Lama

What if we could get over it?

This morning I was thinking about the dread I was feeling over attending my booth at the Vancouver Night Market. And as I talked to myself about just why I was feeling so bad it occurred to me that the biggest emotion I was dealing with was the fear of looking stupid.

A number of times when I have had a booth there have been hours and hours of time when I didn’t make a sale. I would sit or stand there in my booth with a smile on my face pretending I was happy to be there when I wasn’t.

And each time I would be having this heated conversation with myself that never again was I going to put myself in such a stupid position. Why was I trying to sell something that no one wanted? How stupid is that?

Internal Mindset

A week or two ago meditating on this same subject of selling my Vancouver T shirts I came up with another revelation about myself. And it was this. When the t shirts and other things don’t sell I let that cloud my personal opinion of what I think about them.

The truth is that I like the t shirts. I like them a lot. And a number of people have liked them enough to buy them – I mean I probably have sold several hundred of them over time so there were other people out there who like them as well.

But here I am putting myself down because not everyone likes them!

It’s just a bit ridiculous

When you think about it – giving everyone else the remote control of my emotions is rather irresponsible.

Letting others control the strings of how I feel, respond and act is like being Pinocchio before he became a real boy. A marionette that is lifeless until someone picks up the strings and dances the At puppet across the stage.

Taking back control

I have been reading a number of books lately that state our life is controlled by what we think. And what we think determines how we act.

This is nothing new of course. For instance in the book of Proverbs.

“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”.

Proverbs 23:7

It’s pretty clear on the subject. And a book by James Allen on this same topic written over a hundred years ago (available here for free or from this website) has no doubt been a springboard for many other free thinkers.

Night Market Results

And the results are in! (Started this post last week)

The Night Market experience was survivable.

I actually enjoyed it.

I only sold nine t-shirts over two days so didn’t even come close to meeting my costs . . . but I went to it with my thinking process fixated on having fun not making sales. And I did have fun. A definite mind over results victory!

Will not be doing it again though. Because making sales would be fun too!

Book Countdown . . . 2 – 20 – 2020!

Book count down for Patty Grasher memoir - If I'm Not Me, Who Will Be? 218 days to go

Please add “your” three gratitude moments in the comments. It’s a great way to pick up your day and it’s fun for the rest of us to read!

  1. In the book mentoring program. Get ready world!
  2. Today is my birthday! Happy Birthday to me. 🙂
  3. Yes! We have a dog sitter. Super blessed.
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8 Responses

    1. Thanks Rose! Jon and I are “trying” to watch our sweets but he compromised and bought us each a chocolate cupcake. Which was just perfect for the amount we needed to celebrate the day and not be overloaded with too much cake afterwards. That of course I would have eaten every bit!

    1. Thanks Connie! I had a lovely one. Glad you like the dog puzzles. Andre says, “Bark! Bark! My kind of pal!”

  1. Belated Birthday wishes.

    I always admire your “not giving up!” Something doesn’t work, I have always walked away, but you keep going back, finding a new way, or changing your own attitude. More POWER to you!

    LaVern

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