Where do you rank when it comes to managing your thoughts and emotions?  Do you perceive most situations in your life as negative or do you see the situation as an opportunity for growth?  It’s all in how you believe.  Recently I had a similar conversation with two different people.  A gentleman told me he recently stopped his morning walk because someone at a local coffee shop told him they saw him walking that morning and asked him how it was going.  Because of that innocent remark, this man stopped walking for fear that others would know when he walked and possibly harm him.

On the other side of the coin, I have a friend who was training for a marathon and walked the same path everyday.  She told me how fun it was when people recognized her and asked her how her training was going - they saw her walk the same path everyday.  It encouraged her that people were rooting for her.  Both of these people faced the same situation yet they had different perceptions and totally different responses.