Melanie Page

I think the universe is trying to tell me having a positive mindset and attitude is the most desirable attribute one can have. For instance, I’ve done several interpreter trainings recently that were created by my colleagues at Purple that focused on having a positive attitude because that can make an interpreter do better. Being nervous is a distraction that puts emphasis on the interpreter, not the Deaf and hearing consumers.

In one training, I clicked a link that took me to the song “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive” by Ella Fitzgerald. Wow, has that gotten stuck in my head! In fact, three days ago I took the BEI Level 1 certification test, and the whole time I was singing the chorus. At that point, the whole goal is to not be nervous — it’s not like I can use the waiting room time to improve my skills!

Later, the universe tapped my on the shoulder again. I was listening to a podcast called Final Girl After Dark by Stacie Ponder. She admitted what we were listening to was her second recording of the same episode because the first time around, she was so NEGATIVE about the state of the country. It was a recent episode, so she mentioned ICE, bombing Iran, etc. Ponder knew that she couldn’t post that episode because it was such a downer and not the point of her podcast.

Therefore, I wanted to stop and take a moment to accentuate the positive in my small world. I’m not one who keeps a gratitude journal, but what if I had gratitude posts? Even sharing small things for which I am grateful may inspire you to do the same. We cannot control everything: other people’s feelings, thoughts, and opinions; the choices government leaders make; death; taxes; the weather; surprise internet outages; the final decision another person comes to. What we can control: our thoughts, feelings, actions, decisions, boundaries, and willingness to give back.

Here are some things that made me feel positively recently:

• Buying my friend a chocolate birthday cake and eating it together.
• Making lists about which books to read and when.
• Thinking about all the book clubs I’m in — I love hearing what other people think about books.
• Whenever I deliver good customer service and I know it.
• Meeting new Deaf people and building a relationship of trust.
• Riding my indoor bicycle to decompress.
• The first Friday Deaf social gathering event, even though there was a lot of lightning and flash flooding.