Control How You Respond

 My daughter is into positive thinking and she gave me three or four books on the subject. "Relentless Optimism" by Darrin Donnelly was one of them. The book surprised me. It was so interesting that I couldn't put it down. It reads like a novel. There is a story that teaches how a commitment to changing your attitude can affect your life, everything in your life.

There are two major characters, Bobby Kane and Wally Hogan. Bobby is 31 and reduced to playing in the minor leagues. It looks like his career is over. Wally was a successful big leaguer turned minor league manager. Wally made his money and could afford to do what he loved. W ally was more than a baseball manager, he was a mental coach for positive thinking.
Step by step, Wally turns Bobby's life around. Not only is Bobby surprised, but so is the reader. I've lived a long life, so to speak. My philosophy has always been, "Always expect the worse. Most of the time it doesn't happen. So you're happy. But if the worse happens, you can deal with it better than anybody because you knew it would happen." This book changed my mind. My philosophy is no way to go through life. It is not something I want to hand down to my grandchildren. Wally's way gives you a happy life. My way was too cautious to allow me to enjoy the moment. I missed a lot of beauty and appreciation.
It's never too late. Bobby was 31 when he turned around. If I'm turning around then so can anyone.