Our mindset is very much shaped by our childhood and our environment. I was lucky enough to grow up in an extremely optimistic family. My grandparents were very aware of both the First and Second World Wars. My grandfather was a German rocket scientist in Bleicherode and Travemünde. After the Second World War, the whole family was taken to Russia. So my mother grew up on the island of “Gorodomlia” from the age of four to eight. They then fled from the GDR to West Berlin and stayed in various refugee camps in Germany. My mother says that the refugee camps in Bavaria were the worst. The nuns who taught the students treated my mother very badly because she hadn’t been Catholic yet. She wasn’t allowed to wear school clothes, so it was immediately obvious that she wasn’t Catholic.
But there was one thing that always held the family together.
Optimism and humor.
Whenever I got upset about something or argued with my sister, my grandma would always say. “Child, don’t worry about it, there are much worse things.”
And she really was right. Is it really worth getting upset about something?
What is your mindset?
Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist? Is the glass half full or half empty for you? Or do you not care because you drink it anyway?
But no matter how you grew up and were brought up. It’s up to you to change your mindset. But it’s not something that happens overnight. You have to keep working on it. But it’s worth it!
If you notice that your environment is dragging you down, remember that it’s what you make of it that counts.
If you get into a traffic jam, you can of course get upset about it. But you won’t change anything about the situation.
Saying: “What a mess, now I’m in a traffic jam!” won’t get you anywhere.
Instead, say to yourself: “I imagined it would be different, but there’s nothing I can do about the situation now.” Accept the things you can’t change yourself, according to the Stoics.
If you notice that your environment is bringing you down, try to change your environment.
Enjoy your day. I wish you a lot of fun!