Assuming the Bad

 

On the day I wrote this there was a recall of food products for possible contamination. A major corporation was voluntarily recalling several types of drink products in one area of the country.

My wife was talking about it to a friend and when she said, "I'm glad they are recalling them, they just don't want to take the chance people are going to get sick." 

Her friend agreed but wouldn't leave it alone. I was heading out and in a parting comment I said, "And they don't want to be sued for millions."

The comment may in fact be true but so might my wife's comment. It could be that it is a combination of the two. However, what hit me is that what each of us said reflected far more about our attitude at the time than the reality of why the corporation did what it did. I wasn't feeling good and my attitude was poor (okay, it stunk) and my comment not only reflected my attitude but it was corrosive. It demeaned my wife's comment and threw doubt where none needed to be. Our attitudes weren't going to change this company's policies or make life better for the people in that part of the country. The only thing it could do is steal joy and plant the seed of doubt in someone else and help it grow in mine. 

Looking bad it was wrong of me so wrong. 

So why are they doing it? It doesn't matter, the right thing is being done. The dangerous thing is what is my attitude doing to me and those around me. The good news is that I caught my mistake just moments after I said it. This means I will be on guard and by now saying the right thing I can improve my attitude. Ultimately, it also means that in the future I will more than likely do what is right for the right reason rather than to avoid punishment. 

Side note: I'm not saying we need to put a positive light on everything and ignore wrong attitudes. We can't, we have to deal with them. However, if all we see is the dark in everything, we will miss the light that is out there, and what is scarier is we will become more like what we focus on.