Call me crazy but I like being positive. For me positive works much better than negative. I often hear people tell me how positive I am and I like that. Positive fits and it works for me, but understand I'm not able to be positive all the time. We all have our moments and I'm no exception (ask my wife, she'll tell you). There are days when the negative side of me can be stronger and I too can have a "bad hair day."
My dad used to say "hair today, gone tomorrow," which to me meant those moments are fleeting and even in those negative instances I have options on how I'm going to act next.
For instance I can wear a hat! HAH!! Just one solution to a bad hair day.
So the story I share next is true and the events hereby recalled actually did occur. How can I be so certain? Well because the teenager I speak of next was none other than a young Coach Mark.
The story goes like this. As a young boy growing up in the early 80's in an attempt to look cool amongst my peers I decided to get a gentle perm put in my hair so as to don the going style of the day (I'll ask you to maybe take a coach-like position here and withhold judgement, the 80's were a very confusing time). Now fortunately for me I had a family member who was willing to perform the "perming" at her home for only the cost of the styling kit.
So I bought my ticket to Coolsville (otherwise known as a home perm kit) from the local corner drug store and booked my day for the spring of 1980. I arrived that morning ready for a full hair transformation and my budding hair styling cousin set the artful deed into motion as she began applying the rollers and solution. There I sat in Gloria's kitchen with a big grin on my face and a plastic skull cap on my head waiting for the chemicals to do their magic.
I was all in, there was no turning back now and nor did I want to. My "cool factor" was going to be off the charts!! I was headed for fame and fortune, or at least more dating opportunities. I could see myself riding my 10 speed bike to school with my wavy hair flowing in the wind. In my mind, I was going to look like David Cassidy or maybe Leif Garrett (look them up they were big in the day).
Until I heard my cousin, the weekend stylist, speak those fateful words;
"Uh, oh, that's not good; I think we left the solution in too long."
And that's when my bad hair day started. With the extended time the solution had been in my hair I had gone from a gentle perm to a full blown, tight curl afro! And for those of you who haven't met me I'm white. I was now a 14 year old, 125 lb kid with a 20 lb afro. Probably not the best look.
My hair was so big that for our grade 9 year end
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| This is me in grade 9 |
photograph they had to stand me in the back row far right corner so that none of the other kids were obscured by my "fro"(notice how I'm sort of off to the side on my own). I looked more like a white Jimmy Hendrix than I did David Cassidy. And this was after already having 2 haircuts since the perm.
But being positive fit me better even then and truthfully I can't remember anything really negative about having that big hair. Yes, I wore a lot of hats that year, and the occasional touque, even in the summer, but I can't remember anything negative from the experience.
And who knows I might have been partially responsible for the craze seen today where so many "cool cats" are wearing knitted head wear even in the middle of summer.
So it might all come down to perspective.How do we view "our" glass, is it half full or half empty? Are we seeing positive or negative?
Did I have an afro or a conversation piece? The decision ultimately rests with us. Bad "hair days" are going to happen to all of us, guaranteed. It's not a question of whether they will;it's about how we react when they do and what we do next that counts.
My suggestion: Try on some positive and look for what's good in your life and work on creating more of it. You're worth it.
And just for the record, my cool factor was never higher that year. Hanging out with my friends, I realized my "cool factor" had nothing to do with my hair, and had everything to do with me.
Tap into your "cool factor" people and choose positive. It has everything to do with you.
