Several years ago, I’d gone to the local library over lunch and ran into a friend and former co-worker. What was odd about our meeting was that we were both in the Kids & Teens section at the time… and we are decidedly older than the target demographic.
We chuckled a little awkwardly about being “caught” in the young adults section but then quickly got past that and asked what each of us were looking for. While the titles don’t matter, what I found particularly enlightening and even encouraging was that our reasons were pretty much identical. We both regularly read these books because we found them to have this pervasive sense of optimism which was uplifting and frankly needed in a world that seems obsessed with all the bad things happening.
Now, I’m not suggesting we should ignore, avoid or deny that terrible things happen. They absolutely do. But just like the advice we get about diets and how “you are what you eat”, I think the same is true for what we consume for our minds. What we take in informs how we think about different subjects and, over time, we can build and reinforce a bias towards a particular way of thinking be it positive or negative.
So for my friend and me – and, I suspect, a good many more of you – one solution is to balance the bad with regular doses of good. We all realize that a fairy tale ending isn’t a foregone conclusion as it is in many of these books targeted towards younger readers, but I also think it’s important to train our minds to remain open to the possibility of a positive outcome.
So for me, reading these books served multiple purposes, not the least of which is that they tend to be very creative and entertaining (which is good brain food too). But it’s also the important reminder that good can triumph over evil. I have witnessed numerous examples in my life where a dogged conviction has carried the day over seemingly unwinnable odds. And while that’s not a guarantee, what I do believe is that your chances of “winning” go up significantly once you accept that you can still win.
And if that means getting caught in the kids section of the library checking out a book from time-to-time, well, I think it’s a small price to pay.
Know that I’m pulling for you!
What If... 
Great insight Chris! I think its easy for us to focus on “self discipline” in terms of eating right, working out, or being productive but we skip over our “mental fitness.” I’m butchering this statistic but I’ve heard before that of the tens of thousands of thoughts we have a day, most are repetitive and something like 90% are negative. Positive thinking is “self discipline for the mind” – that’s a muscle I know I need to do better at working out!
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Thanks the for the kind words Brian and for the stats. I’ve heard similar and it’s amazing to me that we are all so inclined to the negative in our heads.
We hear about Imposters Syndrome or how we need to “fake it ’til we make it” which speak to an underlying lack of faith in ourselves. This perpetual tidal wave of negativity can have a long and lasting effect on ourselves so it’s important to find ways to consciously combat that.
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