Stay on the Asset Side, Always on the Asset Side

It’s been my experience that if we can even begin to see any good in hard situations, that goodness becomes more pervasive and apparent to our view, so we’re able to grasp hold of that goodness with progressively more ease. The opposite is also possible though. Seeking for an asset framed mindset doesn’t make us PollyAnn-ish. It just widens our net to catch those good things that are also out there in our current lives.

Yesterday I had the great opportunity to fly back to my home town to visit family. I always worry too much about getting to the airport in time for my flight and since the security line at the TSA check point was practically the shortest I have ever seen it, I got through very quickly. That gave me nearly two hours to spare until my flight took off.

So having so much time to kill and seeing the Delta Sky Lounge directly a floor above me, I thought I’d splurge a bit and check it out. I took an elevator tucked away that led me to a front desk, and after getting through the very pleasant check in folks at the entrance, I surveyed the space and the services. The place was surprisingly crowded with most of the seats and booths occupied by people mostly zeroed in on their laptops of talking to people about what seemed to be important business dealings. There was a very nice spread buffet with a variety of soups and salads and sandwiches and fresh fruit and lots of drink varieties.

Had I planned ahead a bit more I would have come hungry. As it was, I had eaten a protein shake and bar just before I settled with a fresh pear and grabbed a goblet to fill with Diet Coke. And I found a set with some limited privacy to work on some work projects on my own laptop.

Soon after I took my seat, however, I started to get annoyed at the guy who occupied the next booth because he was towering over me standing a bit too close for my personal space needs fidgeting with his various bags while talking at what I felt like was a volume unnecessarily loud into his ear bud. Gradually, my investment in the Lounge degraded to a point where I felt like I would have actually been happier if I had just stayed on the lower flower in the main food court.

But then I caught myself, and I’m so glad I did. I actually let out an actual laugh at myself. I realized how ridiculous it was for me to feel picked on or annoyed while sitting in my relatively comfy booth, sipping my ice cold Diet Coke with such a menagerie of delightful foods and drinks within a few steps. It dawned on me then, that my disappointment was completely of my own making. I had chosen to try out this new experience. I had paid a bit of money for the privilege of the experience and there were more than enough wonderful things about the experience that if I but focused on those things, I would very likely have ended up with a totally different assessment of the overall experience.

Lucky for me, I made that realization within the first hour, so the second hour I tried to flip the paradigm. The guy next to me didn’t instantly transform into a long lost friend who I was thrilled to see, but I realized that there are some very nice things about just being among people in a safe environment. One kind gentleman told me the WiFi password with a smile and I could smile right back with genuine gratitude. Even my Diet Coke somehow tasted better.

I definitely realize that there are many situations that are far less good than a Delta Sky Lounge. Goodness knows, I’ve spent my fair share in very desperate places like the ICU at hospitals and on streets with car accidents. In those drastic environment it can be so much more difficult to perform the paradigm shift like the one I was so grateful to use yesterday at the Sky Lounge. But it’s been my experience that if we can even begin to see any good in hard situations, that goodness becomes more pervasive and apparent to our view, so we’re able to grasp hold of that goodness with progressively more ease. The opposite is also possible though. Seeking for an asset framed mindset doesn’t make us PollyAnn-ish. It just widens our net to catch those good things that are also out there in our current lives.