BODY OF EVIDENCE

On a recent speaking trip, I encountered an interesting experience while on my return flight. It spoke volumes of the human tendency to focus more on what goes wrong instead of what actually goes right. It was the default setting for most humans on broad display. Except for a few bumps, the flight was an overall good flight with fairly good service. We left on time and actually arrived a little earlier than scheduled. However, that was not good enough for the passenger sitting next to me. Upon landing and turning on his phone, he immediately called someone to complain about the "turbulence" and not having enough ice with his water. As I sat there listening, I couldn't help but wonder what flight this guy was on because the one I was on was a pretty good one overall. Sure, there were bumps here and there, but the pilot kept in touch frequently with the passengers and provided a smooth ride. Clearly, this individual's focus steered away from what was good about the flight and towards the minor discomforts of his overall flight experience. There was overwhelmingly more to applaud than complain about. Understanding that this is the average person's modus operandi, I was not surprised. In fact, consider those moments when the overall dinner is delicious, and the food is cooked perfectly apart from the soup needing a little salt. What do many do in this situation? I know you're laughing right now because this sounds all too personally familiar, right?

In life, there is always more joy than sadness, but sadness gets all the attention. You'll laugh more than you'll cry. You'll love more than you'll hurt. More things will go in your favor than will go against you. Yet, those superseding good moments somehow will get the short end of the stick. I submit to you that the key is to find insurmountable evidence for what is good and what does go right in your experiences. For every evidence that exists to prove that a certain thing has not gone well, there is incredibly more to demonstrate the opposite. I've learned that people will always find the evidence to support whatever they're willing to believe about their lives and circumstances. It will always boil down to which body of proof you'll seek to justify, either the downside of things or the good and favorable which were there all along waiting to get their greater share of attention and praise.