I recently told a group of friends about this occasional practice, and they had responses that surprised me, but make complete sense. One friend laughed and said, "Ooh, that's dangerous! If they didn't give me whipped cream, I would wonder if they thought I needed to hold off on the calories!" Another friend said, "If they did give me the whipped cream, I would wonder if maybe I looked like I needed a pick-me-up." It occurred to me that I may wonder if the decision to give whipped cream would mean that they thought I looked like a "fun-loving" person, or if they didn't give it, it was because they were trying to help me with my health and fitness goals. Then, as a former barista, I remember how much fun it was to put a swirl of cream on the top of a drink, and realized that it could be a reflection of how much the barista wanted to have fun with my drink, or save time by omitting an extra step.
The reason I bring this up is not to make you thirsty for espresso drinks, but to point out that there are many, many different ways to interpret the events that happen in one's life, or the motivations that drive the behaviors of others. And these differences can affect how stressed we feel in our lives. Much of our stressful experiences come down to our attitudes and our perceptions, as these attitudes and perceptions literally lead to different interpretations of events, different actions we may take in response to these interpretations, and experiences of the world. For example, if 20 people asked to be "surprised" on the whipped cream decision, we may have some people walking away feeling lucky, some feeling insulted, some feeling affirmed, some feeling self-conscious, and some merely feeling pleasantly surprised.
How many times do you think you may be interpreting something more negatively than you may necessarily need to interpret it? How many areas of your life may be less stressful with a change of attitude? The following resources can help you to examine your attitudes and perceptions, assess how they may be affecting your stress levels, and see what you can do to change these things.
Attitude Resources From Elizabeth Anne Scott
- Take The Optimism Self Test
- The Importance of Optimism
- How To Be More Of An Optimist
- Common Cognitive Distortions--Which Ones Sound Familiar?
- Cognitive Restructuring: How To Reprogram Your Self-Limiting Thoughts
Have you ever had experiences where a shift in attitude has made all the difference? If so, please share your thoughts in the comments section below! And if you enjoyed this blog, I'd love it if you'd pass it along with the 'share' button!
Quizzes | Ongoing Resources
So well said, Elizabeth! It’s so important to pay attention to what we say about the things that happen to us. It really does make a difference in how you feel about yourself and your life. Great blog post!
Thanks, Paige! You sound like you already have a pretty great handle on positive thinking, so clearly you know what you’re talking about here!