Thursday, June 3, 2010

Murphy… it’s time you take a hike!

We’ve all heard these phrases before and usually when we really don’t want to hear them… Murphy’s Law, Karma, what goes around comes around and getting your comeuppance – typically when you are wishing someone would.

Not too long ago, people would refer to my life as “Murphy’s Law according to Kathy”. For years it truly felt like no matter what I did, things would go wrong, things would happen that seemed out of my control and turn my world upside down yet again. Here is where another phrase has etched itself into my brain and makes me ill – what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger. Blah on that, I say!

Lately there have been books published that pawn off the idea that we can command the mighty Universe to bring good things our way simply by asking nicely with focus. I still haven’t finished the book and it sits in its rightful place in my bathroom collecting dust. Maybe I don’t have an open mind, or maybe my Christian faith got in the way of thinking this was nothing more than a marketing ploy preying on people who desperately need hope. In my humble opinion, God is the only power I need and the only being I need to get down on my knees and pray to and let’s face it; He’s not one you command.

Do I think there is merit in the power of positive thinking? Absolutely I do. As much fun as people have made over the years of the SNL character who repeated positive reinforcements to himself, I do believe that telling yourself that you’re worth it, you’re good enough and you are special will eventually bring ones self confidence to a higher level. No one else has the power to allow negative words to affect how we feel, but if we force ourselves to repeat positive thoughts, only good should come of it.

Looking back on all those times when someone would refer to my life as following the laws of this Murphy character, I can clearly see how those words affected how I felt, how I acted and mostly how I chose to handle the particular situation. The bottom line: I reacted like a victim. “Oh, poor me… Murphy strikes again… boo hoo”. There were plenty of times I was defeated before the battle even began because I chose the attitude of a fallen warrior instead of the victorious knight.

So, as of now, I refuse to take the victim approach, I refuse to lie down and simply take what circumstances have handed me at the moment and not think I deserve better. I will stand up for myself and say “Murphy, you are no longer welcome in my life!”

1 comment:

  1. Stuart Smalley is the character's name from SNL.

    See, I do read your blog!

    ReplyDelete