Example 1: This product has killed millions of children throughout the existence of mankind. It has sparked wars, land disputes and feuds for generations. It is no good! Why would anyone want a product that is used for torture in such a widespread and well known way?
Example 2: This product can save your life every day. It can help you to lose weight, balance your system and assists in anaerobic exercise. Your children need this product in order to survive. Thank goodness that it is so abundant! What would we ever do as the human race without our beloved WATER!!!!
Yes. All the statements that I have made are true. I didn't lie (except for the "no good" part, but since opinions are subjective it doesn't really matter). What happened? It is the very same substance seen in two extremely contradictory lights. Anything and everything has upsides and downsides as stated by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way"
It all boils down to labeling. Advertisers are brilliant as using this technique to influence you to buy a product. Critics use it to tell you whether or not to see a certain movie. Literary geniuses employ this savvy method to shape your view on characters in their books and the morality of their actions. When abused, this tactic can cause job loss, divorce, lawsuits and it can drive people to suicide.
Have you ever felt labeled unfairly? I know that in my life I have felt bullied and attacked personally because of the words of others. It has affected how I view myself. Are the people that label others unjustly evil? Nope. Just misguided. So instead of returning the favor and labeling them back, how about we adopt a different perspective.
Take Link, for instance. Link is a young Hyrulian kid with the vertical challenges of a leprechaun and the fighting style of a first-grader. All he has is a puny dagger and a wooden shield to begin with. His friends label him as worthless and incapable. The gods beg to differ and send him on an epic quest with awesome music. To commence this intense journey through space and time he kills a GARGANTUAN spider with tree nuts launched from a y-shaped stick.
To all of you who have felt as I have because of the verbal violence of others' mental flatulence, I ask a question: Who do you believe: the gods, or Link's friends? Why? What would have happened if the gamer, upon hearing the negativity of Link's friends, decided that the game wasn't worth his time because his character was worthless? What if we were to adopt the mentality, but not the violence, of course, of video games concerning our self esteem? We have weaknesses, but our strengths are what matter.
While we really do have negative attributes that others are most willing to point out, never fail to remember all the good that you have done in the world. If someone says that you are rude, think of all the nice things that you have said in the past. Maybe what you said or did in that moment was over the top and uncalled for. Instead of assuming that it means that your ARE a BAD person, think of things that aren't evil that you can do and decide to act on them to the best of your ability. Compliment that person on their astuteness and awareness and move on. If they want to label you, it's their issue, not yours. They can learn to treat people differently while you go on to prove them wrong.
Take your stick and tree nuts and use it to be a successful... whatever you are going to be. Don't let negativity bring you down!
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