I was pleasantly surprised at the reaction to my recent article Why You’re Reading About the Philippines. In particular I’m glad that no one took my examples of how repetitive and cyclical our always present world and national crises are … so many things today sound the same as when I listened to the radio at my mother’s knee in 1949 or 1950 or so … my mom would have been glued to CNN 24×7 if she were around today (except when a Mets game was on). She was a bit of a news junkie I would have to say.
Frankly, although we get the International edition of CNN here in the Philippines, which is head an shoulders above the drivel you suffer through in the US-only version, it is still a pretty horrible thing to watch for more than 15 minutes or so.
It is often said, often in a humorous or even critical sense, that Filipinos are “drama queens”, and as much as I can be an objective observer, I would have to agree. Even what seem like small, trivial events are often blown up to tremendous proportions in the Philippine media … only to die down and disappear without a trace in the next few days. We in the US of course share this tread to some degree, but the overwhelming impression of an outsider is, drama is certainly a ‘queen’ here in the Philippines.
But if drama be a ’queen’, what or who might be the ‘king’? For me, that’s one of the few ‘easy’ questions left in this world … it is negativity. Watching the nightly news is often a little game to me as I watch the ‘talking bobble heads’ try to find a negative aspect to nearly every item they report. A few nights ago I saw an interesting report on the first quarter 2009 ASEAN countries’ economic performance. The Philippines was up in number one in a great many of the categories. In a number of cases the Philippines blew Singapore out of the water (for reasons I don’t yet fathom, Filipinos seem in awe of Singapore … a swampy little mud flat about the size of Metro Manila, with virtually no resources, which depends heavily on imported Filipino talent in things technical or artistic and creative, to a degree I probably won’t understand if I live here another hundred years … that’s a story for another day).
My point is, the newscaster and the Philippine government official being interviewed prefaced every statement with ‘weasel words’ like, “of course trouble may yet come to us,” “you can’t really say that the Philippines is performing that well because the other country’s GDP is artificially depressed by the global crisis’, and a lot of other almost sickening apologia for being in the lead.
But the tendency for the Philippines to always think of themselves in last place is not my main point. As an American I see plenty of this tendency today in my fellow Americans. Instead of showing the world what we, as a country can do, and digging in and doing for ourselves what we really are capable of, we seem to have fallen into a sullen, passive aggressive mode of being sorry for ourselves, and like our Filipino brethren, giving up on today and pinning out hopes on some nebulous time in the future when things will come right again for us.
I had this driven home to me pretty solidly a day or so ago when I read the blog of a fellow I have been reading for some time. He’s a former computer industry tech person who changed careers to follow his dream … he always wanted to be an airline pilot. Quit his job, mortgaged his house to finance his training and is now in the ’big time’ … or semi-big time. He’s a first officer flying small jets for a regional US airline … working long strange hours and struggling up the ladder in the face of continual threats of layoffs (‘furloughs’ in the airline industry), and making his way, in general, in the typical American Dream path so many of us are used to reading about … at least back in better time.
What set me off on today’s essay though was a blog entry he made about packing his suitcase where he used an illustration of his pilot’s flight bag complete with a prominent ‘bumper sticker’ advocating the defeat of President Obama in the next presidential election in 2012. (Photo by permission, Geek in the Cockpit)
Now don’t get me wrong .. and don’t sharpen up your political knives. This blog isn’t about politics and I don’t want to discuss it (for those who just have to know I didn’t vote for either Obama or McCain and I have absolutely no interest here, in 2009 who might be on the ticket in 2012).
I did, though, fell saddened and a little sick to my stomach that this otherwise positive, hardworking and ‘with it’ person would figure it was worth his time, three plus years before the next election, to put his day-to-day efforts into carrying around ‘anti’ banners this far in advance. It’s as if we, the US, his chosen and problematic airline industry, and the unsettled world, with many people wondering where they are going to live or where their next meal is coming from, would feel that anything ‘positive’ will be advanced by wasting time campaigning against someone who can’t even run for more than three years. I mean what are we for? Being against someone can’t change a thing.
Recently there was a large rally in Makati (Metro Manila) against what would amount to another term of the current president. Never mind the fact that constitutionally she can’t run again, and has given no indication she wants to, is this the most effective use of time, talent and money to advance a progressive cause? Nonsense. Wouldn’t it make sense to find a candidate who would really do something for the country and boost up support for him or her? I mean who cares who else runs in an election as long as the best candidate (in your opinion) wins?
Folks, trust me on this. It is infinitely more powerful and efficient to be for something rather than against something, no matter what country you live in, Not only is this something I know intuitively and from experience, but interestingly enough, in today’s troubled economic time, it turns out that negativity is a major factor in destroying efficiency (and thus leads to lost jobs).
You might want to read this article “Negativity: The Number One Productivity Problem“. I’ll highlight just a couple of facts from the article:
Fact #1 It may not be healthy to be negative but it’s natural. Human beings think over 60,000 thoughts per day and 85% of those thoughts are negative. Think about the little voice in your head cursing traffic or saying things like, “I dread going to work,” or “I can’t stand my co-workers.”
Fact #2 What you focus on expands. Cognitive scientists and neuron-psychologists know that the brain actually changes as a result of where a person focuses his thinking. Negative habits create more negativity and positive thoughts create happier feelings which lead to health.
Fact #3 Feeling good is good for your health. The American Heart Association reports that feelings of appreciation increases circulation and smooth cardiovascular rhythms. Also, recalling an angry experience can negatively affect the immune system for as much as six hours? …
Fact #4 Relationships are either a source of renewal or a source of drama. It’s a fact, the number one reason an employee leaves a company is due to poor relationships with his direct supervisors. It is a fact that over 90 percent of workplace problems are people related. The Gallup organization found that no single factor more clearly predicts the productivity of an employee than the relationship with his direct supervisor. Drama in the workplace hampers productivity and the number one problem in most workplaces is negativity and stress.
If I had to characterize the comments and feelings of the vast majority of folks I deal with every day, foreigners or Filipinos, “Negativity” would have to be right up there at the top of the list.
Many foreigners who aren’t yet living in the Philippines have trouble holding a conversation without the “I hate my job” or “I can’t stand American women” feelings gushing out.
Those foreigners who live here continually bombard me with “The Filipinos are all after my money” or “The taxi drivers all cheat me” and similar thoughts.
Many Filipinos are no different. I ask someone about a government project I have heard of and the stock answer is “Oh, that can never push through, it will all be eaten up in graft and corruption.” or “There are no opportunities for Filipinos unless they go overseas” and so on.
What do you think? I mean, where do you focus your thoughts when you are thinking consciously? I was particularly taken with Fact number 2, above. Could it be that we really build and continually rebuild our own brains? Is the ‘lucky guy’ just lucky, or is he just another sad sack who consciously worked on the problems in his life and recreated his own bran?
Something to think about, I think
Hi Dave – Maybe your pilot author REALLY believes in CHANGE! 😆
Hi Dave!
There are many facets to the negativity issue you are talking about. First you need to stop hanging around so many cranky old men! ha ha! They have a end of the world mentality. These guys can usually be found around coffee shops here in the US. Disclaimer … Bob is not included because he has a laptop with him and he is not old enough yet. Most of the passion that they have comes from a snippet in the newspaper or a blurb on a news report. From listening to some of the old guys that I know I would venture to say that they really don't care so much for the issue but rather the empowerment of being able to lead or join a discussion. Okay now that I have an army of complaining geezers after me. I will venture to say that some of the negative political campaigning could be born out of frustration. I think that people that do this feel like they are taking back their destiny. The sad reality is that most of the time it is orchrestrated by people with a self serving agenda. The people raising all the ruckess are usually just unwitting pawns of an agenda. Here in the US we have a federally funded group for that purpose called ACORN. My wife refuses to allow Philippine politics diminish her positive outlook. I think that is one of her most endearing characteristics. Having her as my partner has moderated my cynicism over the years. One of the biggest influences on negativity that we have is the media. You can literally twist the meaning of the phrase "no news is good news" and still be correct. It is truly sad to hear when people become resigned to a system of corruption. When they do this they enable that system to become accepted so it grows unchecked. I have noticed that most corruption when uncovered is dealt with a wink and a smile type punishment. That will probably never change since the henhouse is fully staffed with foxes. It is like when they mentioned tort reform here in the US to a congress full of trial lawyers. Just not going to happen! I have already been exposed to a few negative Americans while in the Philippines. The most memorable one was a huge guy in Jollibees suggesting that he was unable to eat until he returned home to Chicago. I told him that he could probably extend his vacation a few more months with no ill effects. His look soured after that but his ranting continued. I felt sorry for the Filipinos that were with him because they were really ashamed. I was ashamed too by my skin color connection. Maybe we should learn to embrace the response that I get from Marie when I mention politics….." Oh I don't care!"
Hello Dave,
I am with you on this article, "why be negative, when you can accent the positive!!".
But it also comes down to that thing called "human nature". Not saying it is right, and not saying it is wrong.
I think we've all had that one neighbor in the neighborhood, who was always was a problem, and wasn't a happy person unless they were causing problems for other people…always negative…instead of doing something positive for the community.
But I really agree with you, why waste positive energy being negative, when you can use that energy in a positive way.
Excellent article, I think Ben Bradlee could have used you at the Washington Post newspaper as a staff writer..excellent views and writing.
Salamat kaayo,
Danny 🙂
Dave, A very thought-provoking article. I could really identify with Fact #4( Relationships with employees and supervisors). During my days with FDA, I told myself, when I turned 62, I will retire early so that I could enjoy the joy of retirement in the Philippines. However, when that time came, I still love my job because I feel my supervisor appreciates me. So, I said I will wait until I turn 65. The time came, and my supervisor still treats me like a human being, appreciates my contribution to the accomplishment of the FDA mission and I still love my job so I kept on working. Then a big change came to FDA three years later. My supervisor retired and I have a new boss who was bossy and loves micro managing. The first time we had an altercation, I filed my retirement papers and the next week, I was gone. This is one of the best decision in my professional career.
Hi Tom,
I am an older guy,but i agree with you.
We become who we are by association.
I avoid miserable people and hang out with happy people.
Maybe thats why i'm mostly happy and positive.
regards Chas.
Hi Dave,
Many thought provoking points there.
Fortunatly, i am a happy eternal optimist.
regards Chas.
Dave,
I was going to write a comment, but I decided I didn't have anything worthwhile to say. Puting those negative thoughts aside I decided to write anyway.Ha!Seriously, your article g ave man y examples of the research on human behavior by the cognitive psychologists.
The studies in the field show that how we think about an event in our lives will determine our reactions to that event and that we have a choice in how we think about events and thus what we do about it. Another conclusion is that we shouldn't draw negative generalizations from one event. For example an ex-pat feels he is cheated about a Filipino taxi driver and then concludes"all" Filipino taxi drivers are cheaters. Thanks again for your thought provoking blog.
Whatever. I just can't see how advocate the ouster of someone today is anything positive. I'm depressed how many Americans are just against the current administration, seems as if things were as bad there as the news media portrays people would want things to succeed, no matter who wears the crown for the next 3.5 years. But then, of course, what would I know, I fled to greener pastures?
U secind both Tom and Chas here. Just the other day I happened upon a fellow from a rurepoean country waiting, as I was, for some paperwork to get done at the furiture store. After afew minutes of pleantries he launched into a vehement diatribe about the horrible government in his own country and how he couldn't stand them, and how they robbed him with taxes, and so on. Of course he had just built a new house here, for cash and was buying literally a truckload of furniture to fill it, I guess they hadn't quite finished robbing him. I was so glad when my wife came back with the completed paperwork and I could beat a hasty retreat. Another hope of a potential friend dashed by a fixiation on sourness and negativity.
As my daddy used tio say, "some people will bitch even if you hang them with a new rope"
Wow, I don't think I'd be up to any newspaper's standards, but thanks for the kind words. I wrote the piece mainly because I wanted to point out the health and productivity (im, productivity translates into saving jobs and better pay for those unclear on the concept). I used my airline friend as an example because we all know tht;s major US industry hard pressed indeed by economic pressures. Why waste time on negativity when your company and your whole industry is struggling and your pay is already cut to the bone … just seems there is so much more we could focus on. And stay healthier too.
I can see that point clearly, David. In spite how many _say_ that money is the most important emplyee motivator, a number of well done studies essential prove that respect is the largest factor of all in employee retention. You can pay a person more, but if you treat him as a non-person, he isn't going to dtay .. or produce properly … dollars ot no dollars.
Cheer up, Chas, I've seen it go along just like this and then get worse 😉 Seriously, no one can be happy all the time, it qouldn't be inhuman, but you can acquire and practice to perfect rhe skill of having a at least a few positive thoughts per day … that's all I adbocate, just let a few rays of sune in through the dark clouds no and again. Thanks, as always for commenting, and as the say in Merry Old, "Keep your pecker up".
Thanks Richard, and we should remember too that there's some pretty good research that has been conducted in involving serious diseases like cancer and heart disease. People liove longer, and if the do lose the battle, die easier when they maintain a positive outlook. The mind literally can control the body's responses to disease and pain.
I worked for alady once who had an excellent sense of huor. She left the office one day for a doctor's visit and when she returned I asked, 'How did htings go"? Her reply?
"Oh fine, but he doesn't know how long I'll live."
Worth remembering, none of out own doctors knows how long we'll live either. Might as well enjoy what we can of each day, crooked taxi drivers or not, becuase it could be our last.
(and no, for those who live in death denial, that's not a negative statement, I'm positive we all have a finite time left … we are the only ones who really can control how we spend what we have.)
A good one Dave ..Now that I'm living here in the PHILIPPINES I do get neg. thoughts but if i can't change it then I am waisting my time.I have more important things to do like sit and watch the world go by .. 🙂 Phil n Jess
Hi Dave!
I like your Dad's analogy. I always say that you can give away free ice cream and some jerk will complain because they are lactose intolerant.
Exactly. The way to deal with negative thoughts is not to try to change them, or avoud having them … they are part of life. The way to deal with them is to 'drown them out' doing thigs you want to do.
A true story. A few years ago when Mita and I lived in Colorado Springs, a company came in and offered 100% free wireless Internet access to every resident of the city … sounds like a pretty good deal. Because that would make them a utility they had to get a franchise from the city council. At the council meeting a group of 'concerned citizens' present a petition aginst granting this company the right to offer free what other companies were already doing for a hefty fee. Their reasons? They had determined that the free internet company would not guarantee 7-24 help desk call-in service, and furthermore that the company would not sign and agreement that they would not (direct quote here) outsource their help desk service to some damn Asian country where the people didn't speak English (end quote).
Needless to say, the free Internet proposal was voted down … the city council wasn't going to 'subject' their citzens to 'second rate' service, even for free.
And some Americans still have the chutzpa to ask me why I don't care much about living in my own country any more…
sorry to go odd subget Dave, But I am now in Manila and to,orrow I will be oln the otherside of the Island that he is moving to with Rose. Danny yoy can contact me [email protected] Im 5 weeks I live here for ever.
Dave I just bought this laptop a week ago and Until Merlins nephew who is computer program show me how to work it I did not know how. I think I am going to love it. But It is about 5 something in morning in this hotel and I really was only tryhoongin get my son. but could not resist going to lip. I will reply to your words after I sleep. 30 hours on plane and I need some.
1 think………rainy season so good