Everyday Canvas

Negative Stuff and the Grinch

Prompt: Preventing the Negative
*Bullet*How do you prevent a negative anything from happening?
Alternately:
*Bullet*The Grinch tries stealing Christmas every year, and this year, things began to go wrong on the Christmas Eve, which you suspect he is starting with your home. What went so wrong and how are you preventing his negative effect on your happy abode?

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Anything that I would consider negative would vary depending on its specific content. Although some negatives can be prevented before they can happen, for others that suddenly drop on me out of the nowhere, I would have no say over them. I would just cry or grin then I would try to bear it, I guess.

What is considered a negative event may depend on the circumstances and the people. The idea is, if something looks, sounds, or smells iffy, I know I have to be on full alert. That is after I have identified anything's potential for a negative happening. Could that be a personal setback, a professional mishap, or a broader societal issue?

Then, I would have to assess the probability and the risks of it taking place, which would encourage me to develop a plan, based on my initial assessment. Maybe I would need to change my behavior in certain areas or implement new safeguards and systems or look for outside help.

I could also monitor it and adjust myself to the course of its progression. This is so that, if my preventing the negative doesn't seem to be working, I should be ready to make adjustments.

After all, it isn't always possible to prevent every negative event. Then, just maybe, negative events can lead to personal growth and improvements. Thus, my focus should be on what I can control but not what I cannot avoid.

In the same vein, I can't stop the Grinch from stealing Christmas or any other joyous occasion. But I can adjust myself what that "joyous occasion" really is, as the folks in Whoville did in Dr. Seuss's version by finding the true meaning of Christmas.

After all, it is all about adaptability, and marking an event or a situation as "negative" is someone else's or my own personal view.


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