#PositiveOutcomesOnly
From 2010 to 2011, a show called Hellcats aired on The CW. It was a show about cheerleaders starring Ashley Tisdale and Aly Michalka. As a Disney fan (they played in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Phil of the Future respectively) and a former cheerleader*, I was interested in the show before it premiered and then fell in love with it.
At this point in time, I don’t remember much more about it except that Aly Michalka’s character didn’t want to be on the squad but ended up joining anyway and Ashley Tisdale’s character didn’t like her at first but they grew to beome friends, typical.
The thing that I took away from the show however, is the phrase “positive outcomes only.” It was Tisdale’s character’s personal mantra and she said it anytime something started to go wrong. She also wrote it on Michalka’s arm at one point with a sharpie. Since she first uttered the phrase on my TV, “positive outcomes only” has stuck with me.
Many people use the phrase “good vibes only” as a positive life motto but it never seemed enough to me. Sending people good vibes may be enough to keep them in a state of calm, but I have never been able to work well when calm. I’ve needed the stress and the pressure to get me through the day to ensure that I end up with a desirable result or, positive outcome. I need to work towards a goal.
This is why, since the first time I heard it, “positive outcomes only” has been my motto. I don’t just want to stay positive all the time- I know I’m not going to be positive all the time because that’s not who I am or how I work. I have bad days. I’ve broken down. I’ve wondered what I’m working towards and why I’m killing myself working towards it. To ask myself to be positive all the time would be setting myself up for failure. What I can ask of myself though, is to take all of that negativity- the tears, the screaming, the frustration, and nights that I’ve wanted to give up on it all- and channel it into something great so that it wasn’t all in vain. Since then, I’ve always kept a goal in mind and tried to work towards it repeating “positive outcomes only” to myself at every step of the way.
Most recently, this has gotten me through graduation from The University of Tampa and I’m not ready for it to stop me there.
*Yes, I was a cheerleader when I was younger. I did it for a year when I was 8 and was not a big fan. I still can’t do a cartwheel.
