I’ve always thought it’s better to say what you stand for instead of what you’re against. But it isn’t always easy to do.
As I wrote recently, I think communicating the strengths of your own merits beats beating up the other guy. Not just in writing but in life: It’s more powerful to say what you believe in instead of arguing against what you don’t.
But yesterday I was feeling a little raw. People were annoying me in general, and some political commentary I heard was the last straw. What was said doesn’t matter, but I was feeling angry at “the other side” for trying to put a negative spin on the President’s efforts to create jobs.
This was my frame of mind as I went to my first night of making phone calls as a volunteer for Organizing for America, doing my part to help President Obama’s re-election campaign. I vented for a minute to my fellow volunteers who were, well, understandably understanding. Then we all got to work. I spoke with supporters of the President and the positive energy quickly erased my mood.
But what really helped me reframe how I’d been thinking was a conversation with Melissa Bernardi, who is my county’s regional field director for Organizing for America–Michigan. I told her how good it felt to be talking with others who believe in the President, taking positive action instead of arguing with the folks who had frustrated me earlier.
Maybe she read my mind a little bit or (more likely) she just knows how these things work. But our subsequent conversation reminded me that no matter how great the temptation to lash out at those we oppose, it’s much more productive to just keep saying what we believe in and why. To share the facts about why we support the President — and, perhaps even more important, to let our genuine enthusiasm for what we’re doing shine through.
It’s very possible that what had me so frustrated with the President’s opponents was their negativity. It just wore me down. But my evening of volunteering reinforced the power of the President’s optimism. As Melissa has rightly said before, every volunteer is essentially speaking on behalf of the President, helping to get his message out while he’s busy doing his job.
President Obama’s persistent hope, even in the face of daily negative energy from every corner, is reassuring. It sets an example that if he can remain an optimist — while still telling the truth about his opponents, albeit with great civility — I have no excuse for turning negative.
I won’t stop speaking my mind and speaking the truth. But I’ll remember that a positive attitude, combined with positive action, will get much more done than pessimism ever could.
I’ve been told many times in recent months that I look like I’m in my early 30s. I have no problem with this, because I just turned 47.
Before you assume people were just being nice, I will hasten to point out they had no reason to be. Some of them don’t even know what I look like, because we interact via phone and Internet exclusively.
One person was a store clerk. I mentioned it was my birthday and she wanted to guess my age. She said 34. There was no potential tip in it for her. Another was a colleague who guessed I was in my 30s, without ever having seen me. I still get carded a lot buying booze, too.
I have other examples, but you get the picture. The thing is, I haven’t really changed anything about my physical appearance lately. For once, my hairstyle has not evolved throughout the year. I haven’t gained or lost weight. I haven’t taken on a new style or fallen in love. No tangible reason for me to have a particularly youthful glow.
Plus, some people don’t even know me from anything other than my Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profiles, and my photos there are quite recent. So they’re going on other clues, I suppose.
What is it, then, that makes me seem so young? Am I just one of those people who is naturally young at heart? I can’t argue with that, because I certainly don’t feel 47, at least not most days. I do stay current with trends and news, music and pop culture, so I can talk about things with my 20-something friends and family that other people my age can’t.
But there has to be more to it than that. I’m wondering if it’s the fact that I’m generally energetic and enthusiastic, characteristics that can fade with age (not that they always do). Does a typically sunny disposition and optimistic attitude make you seem younger? Or am I just damn lucky to have good skin and enough brains to stay out of the sun?
I suppose everyone has their own reasons for thinking I’m younger than I am. And far be it from me to argue with any one of them.
I love a good challenge. Especially one that could make me a better person than I am today.
So I accept the National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) challenge to write a blog post every day in November. Even though my friend and fellow writer/blogger, the exceptional Jim McFarlin (his blog here), asked if I’d “lost my natural mind” by already making a personal commitment to blog three times a week. He may be right, but that’s another matter.
NaBloPoMo, hosted at BlogHer, poses a challenge I can’t resist. I get the chance to connect with tons of other bloggers, exposing me to writers and subjects I might not otherwise find. It will also help some of those bloggers find me and, I hope, become regular readers.
Most important of all, though, is the idea of always being a better writer than I was the day before. And the only way to do that is to write every single day.
Granted, I already write every day (or close to it) for the clients of my writing business. But this blog is one of the few places where I get to write just for me. I can write about anything I want, with no limits on length or style. I am happy to write to the specs of others, but there’s nothing like writing for yourself.
NaBloPoMo is definitely going to be a challenge. But I’m going to take it on with delight.
Because next to a good challenge, there’s nothing I love more than writing exactly what I want to write.
