Tag: Inspired

The True Power of Positive Mental Attitude

The True Power of Positive Mental Attitude

I get a lot of comments on my tattoos. Sometimes they’re positive, sometimes negative. You get used to it after some time, and the explanations can become jaded. But a nice woman came in to get a room, and asked me what this tattoo was all about, because it looked cool.

I don’t know what possessed me, but I decided to give her the actual meaning behind it.

I asked if she was familiar with YouTube, to which she said she was. I told her there was a man, named JackSepticEye, who does a lot of charity work, who makes people laugh, who publicly fights depression, and maintains a message known as PMA.

“What is PMA?” She asks. Her questions are genuine.

“Positive Mental Attitude.” I explain, “As a person who suffers from a mental disorder on a daily basis, I got this tattoo to show my support for him, his movement, but also a reminder to myself when things get bad.”

She’s fallen silent. I look up at her, having been busy looking down at the computer screen checking her in. Had I gone too far?

She breathes what I can only describe as a sigh of relief and says “I’m going to have to tell my husband to look him up. He’s bipolar, and he could use a bit of positivity in his life like that.” I looked at her, and we had an unspoken understanding. Mental illness is hard on everyone. It’s hard for the person dealing with it, and it’s hard for those we love. I set my professionalism aside, and told her she was awesome.

I’ve had people walk out of my life, cast me aside, because they “couldn’t handle” my “crazy”. Indeed, I’ve destroyed friendships with my “crazy”. To have her standing in front of me, and tell me of her husband’s condition not because she was ashamed, or because she hated him, but because she saw someone who understood from both sides how stressful and difficult it could be… I told her she was awesome, and thanked her for being a good person.

A man was sitting in my lobby at the time, and overheard everything. He’d needed a place to stop to change his daughter’s diaper. As soon as the guest left, he approached the counter and handed me $20. I was shocked and said “Sir, you don’t have to do that.” He shook his head, waved his hand, and said “Thank you for letting us stop. Keep up that positive mental attitude.” Then he walked out as I thanked him.

THAT’S the power of Positive Mental Attitude. That’s the TRUE POWER OF PMA.

It’s Okay. No Problem.

It’s been a very stressful week. Hell, it’s been a very stressful day. I’m trying my best to fight off another low that’s coming on (see my bipolar post to understand what I mean by that), and for the most part I haven’t been very successful. I’ve lashed out when I haven’t meant to, and I’ve bottled up a lot more than that.

So I could spend this post ranting and raving to try and make me feel better. I could get into a long winded post about what is wrong with the world and so forth. Instead I’m going to tell you about a little Indian guy.

I remember when I first met him. He rode his little scooter up to the front door of the hotel. I didn’t know who he was at the time, so thinking I would be polite, I hurried over and opened the door for him. He looked up and asked me if I had any problems. Now I was confused. I’d been trying to help him, now he was trying to help me? I told him everything was fine. He smiled and said “Good. No problem.” He introduced himself as my boss’s father, then went along his way. At first I thought he just knew very little English. Turns out, I was very wrong.

Every time I see this man, he always has a smile on his face. “It’s good, no problem.” is his answer to everything. No matter how bad a situation actually is, or how good a situation is. No problem.

At first I thought he was just a crazy little Indian guy. But I was always curious as to why he was always smiling and seemed happy all the time. This man has had a stroke, he rides his little scooter around everywhere. You’d think he’d be the exact opposite of happy.

Then… one night…. I was stressed. I was so stressed. Paperwork wasn’t balancing out, problems at home, etc. And I just…stopped. I smiled. And I said “It’s okay. No problem.” And I thought of him. It brightened my mood up to the point that I was able to let go a little more resentment, make myself smile a little wider, and I figured out the damn sheet.

I’ve started adapting this mentality to many things, and I find it does help. No, it doesn’t take it away, it doesn’t make everything better, and it sure as hell doesn’t fix everything. But it helps.

It seems like something so small. So stupid, really. How can two little words have any sort of power? That’s what I thought too. Until I realized he was smiling, and I wasn’t.

You know what else is a good feeling? That realization that you’ve found what you are meant to do. You’ve found where you’re meant to be.

Every single day I’m challenged. I learn something new every time I walk in that front door, and I leave with a smile on my face every time I leave. I think there has been one time that I left with a frown, and that was just a bad day from the start.

A friend of mine and I started joking a while back about building our own bed and breakfast/hotel (ironically enough it was before I started working in one). At first it was just jokes. But now… I’m actually considering it. The idea brings me joy, it makes me excited. And even though I hate doing the audit sheet, especially when it doesn’t balance, at the end of the day I cannot deny the satisfaction I feel. It is challenging, but I love it. I love it all.

I’m where I need to be right now. And I really do believe that this… working in a hotel… is what I’m meant to do. Maybe not always as a front desk clerk, but… something like this… Have I truly found my calling? My career?

Only time will tell.

When life gets you down, or it feels like the universe is out to get you. Sometimes it helps to just smile and tell it no problem.

Bring it on, universe. It’s okay. No problem.