Good news comes in three

I hope you have heard the old saying Bad News Always Comes in Three’s.  I hope, also, that you have seen through its logic.

• You receive some bad news, and file it in your memory
• Shortly afterwards, you receive another piece of bad news and file this in your memory. 
• All of the sudden alarm bells ring in your head as you realise that you may well be 2 thirds of the way through the fabled 3 pieces of bad news.  Your mind becomes tuned in to look for this “inevitable” third piece and before too long, you find it.
• Your belief in the old saying is supported by your experience and pretty soon that is how you see the world.
• The next  time you receive even 1 piece of bad news you instinctively start to look for the other 2
• You will find another 2, to complete your set because bad news is always close to the person who looks for it.

This sort of logic is a very negative and destructive way of seeing the world, but there is an equally powerful, but positive way that counteracts it.  What if we rock the saying a bit and bend it to our purposes.

Good News Always Comes in three’s

Now each time we receive some good news, we condition ourselves to look for the other 2 pieces of the set.  Good news is always close to those who seek it.  There is always something good, happening near us, or to us, or because of us.  All it takes is for us to be on the lookout for it and we will see it staring us in the face.  How much more productive will our lives become if we are expecting (and therefore looking for) good news rather than bad.  Imagine a day that is marked by 3 good pieces of news and consider how your mood, your motivation and your enjoyment would benefit.

Now of course, this is just a mind trick.  We are all rational people and we understand that there is no such cosmic rule that makes good or bad news come in threes.  However, we must also admit that there is a lot more good news out there than we realise, a lot more oportunities than we take and a lot more celebrating than most of us enjoy.

Try this, this week.  Instead of looking for bad news, make a conscious effort to search for good news.  You needn’t be a head in the clouds dreamer, just a positive, optimistic realist.  If you look for good news, I am sure that you will find a lot more than you expect.  Let me know how you go.

Thanks

Tom