Are You a Tigger or an Eeyore?

In Randy Pausch’s last lecture one of the points he makes is that if you really want to achieve your childhood dreams you need to decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eeyore. I have to agree…the law of attraction and the whole power to create your own life’s experience is so perfectly illustrated by these two beloved Winnie the Pooh characters.

For those not intimately familiar with the Pooh characters like I am (yes indeed, I had an entire Pooh birthday party as a kid and still sport handmade Pooh characters my mother made me which remain one of my most treasured possessions) let me give you the scoop.

Tigger is the super bouncy, wildly positive tiger who is always bouncing around the enchanted forest spreading his off the charts happy vibe. He literally bowls over the other characters with his enthusiasm (because “bouncin’ that’s what Tiggers do!”).

Eeyore on the other hand is a somber donkey. Oh everything bad happens to this donkey as even his tail is held on by a button. Gloom and doom, and he is known for saying in the saddest tone “Thanks for noticin’ me”. His energy is vibrating pretty low and the outlook is bleak to status quo at best. He is the antithesis of personal empowerment.

So which are you? Have you decided to live your life as a Tigger or an Eeyore?

As I said I was a Pooh freak as a kid and I still want to swipe the softest classic pooh stuffie from any baby showers I attend. While I loved all the characters, I grew up really liking Eeyore. I felt I could relate to this donkey. I was very unpopular at school, rarely had many friends, and didn’t think very highly of myself. So his “woe is me” attitude was right up my alley. I could so relate to not feeling noticed (at least not in a good way) and felt that I could never do, be, or have what some other kids had. I had a great home life but really felt lost and alone when it came to the rest of the world.

It wasn’t until a few years ago when I started studying the law of attraction and happened to watch a Winnie the Pooh classic episode at the same time that I thought, hmmmm, I wonder how these characters would fall on the continuum of being able to manifest what they want and create their own life’s experience? And, like a ton of bricks it hit me – my goodness Eeyore has been creating his own misery for all this time! How had I been creating my own negative experiences?

Now Tigger on the other hand, I had a hot and cold relationship with. He was of the cat family, so in that respect he was awesome. Yet I found his unbridled optimism a bit much. A little nauseating. Like the Pollyanna types who make your lunch want to resurface. Yet, as I looked a little deeper I realized that Tigger was just Tigger. And, that to tap into that level of happiness and positive vibe about life you don’t have to be wildly overt about it. You can just have an inner Tigger that dominates and integrates with your authentic self.

In every moment we can look for what is right or look for what is wrong; I guarantee we’ll find what we’re looking for. Yet, as we go through our lives and businesses, which perspectives do you think yield the most success and fulfillment? (Hint: if you’re not sure, just watch one little clip of Tigger and Eeyore.)

Like any powerful choice in life it is just that…a choice. Will you choose to be a Tigger or an Eeyore?

(You can watch his full length lecture and learn more about Pausch at: http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/ or Oprah.com)