Jaybird taught me a lesson about avoiding negative thinking in favor of positive thinking: “They killed ole Can’t, and whipped ole Couldn’t until he said he could”
At her country store in rural Arkansas, Maya Angelou’s grandmother tolerated a few chronic complainers, but even in the toughest times, her attitude remained positive, a mindset she instilled in her granddaughter. Once, when a chronic bellyacher entered the store, she told Maya to listen. Sure enough, he whined about everything — work, money, weather, and so on. After he left, Maya’s grandmother spoke words of wisdom that became a guiding principle of Maya’s life.
“Sister,” she said, “a lot of folks who went to sleep last night — poor, rich, white, black — will never wake again. They would give anything for just five minutes of this weather or ten minutes of plowing. Promise me that you will never complain. What you are supposed to do when you don't like something is change it. If you can't, change the way you think about it.”
