Use the Power of Positivity to Deal with Big City Stress

Jim Curtis

When I was just out of college, I managed to get my dream job as a trader inNew York Cityon the floor of the American Stock exchange.

Though it was a proud accomplishment, running trade tickets through a crowded trading floor was a tricky job for a guy with a limp, quietly battling the debilitating symptoms of an illness.

The reality of full-time work as a trader was even more intense than I expected. It wasn’t that I couldn’t handle the tasks or the mental pressure; the job was simply too physically demanding.

Trading required that I stand in a crowd every day, and without exaggeration, I literally had to hold my ground with the other guys on the floor in order to get my job done. It often left me in a mindset that held me back.

Manhattan is a walking town – people measure their travel in blocks instead of miles – and it’s difficult to get around when you have a disability. Taxis are expensive and riding the subway requires dozens of steep steps to get below ground.

This left me only one option – one that I considered a depressing haven for the disabled, downtrodden, and old – the bus.

One night, after the struggle that was my job, I was aching with self-pity when it started to rain on my walk to the bus stop. I became more and more angry and annoyed as I waited for my bus without an umbrella, and chastised myself, thinking I’d never make it in this city. Telling myself “this city is just too hard” and “maybe it is just not possible for a guy like me”.

And then in my soggy self-pity, I witnessed the most beautiful, fleeting moment. A couple came rolling by on roller skates. Not rollerblades, but the old-school skates we used to wear at the roller rink.

Their grace was astonishing as they traveled quickly down the middle of the street, entwined in each other’s arms as they skated what seemed like the tango.

Twirling, water whipping from their bodies, they passed right in front of me and were quickly gone. They saw the rain from a different perspective, one of opportunity and romance, and in that one instant, they showed me that anything is possible, especially inNew York City.

After cursing the bus for months, I suddenly became grateful for waiting there soaking wet because I would have missed this beauty entirely if I had been in a taxi or on the subway.

In a moment, my reality was changed by a small change in my perception. And it led to other actions like finding a job that I loved.

This, although small, was an important moment on my journey to discovering the power of perception to achieve health and happiness. When your story revolves around negative, limiting thoughts – like mine did – your ability to handle stress and overcome adversity is affected.

It’s difficult to take care of yourself when you choose a story that drains you rather than empowers, you don’t have the energy to take advantage of the opportunities that life is constantly offering.

But when you change your perception, even for a moment, to what is possible and work to eliminate the self-limiting beliefs that impact your daily actions, you will be on the road to a dramatically healthier, happier life.