The sun sets on another day…
Every day is a choice. Every day you can either take the positive way or the negative way and make your day exactly that. I know it seems challenging, and sometimes it wears on you. It’s pretty darn hard. From a personal perspective, every morning when I wake up, my mind starts going through the positives of the day. Over the years, I have trained myself to acknowledge the negatives but not allow them to weigh upon my day. This isn’t easy. I do this by looking for the positives of the day. Sometimes it takes a few minutes, and sometimes it’s pretty instantaneous, but it all depends on people and situations that give me peace and peace of mind.
I was talking to someone fantastic today about the entire process. It’s not that you’re trying to find the most fantastic moment ever. It’s not that you’re picking something you want and looking just for it. Instead, it’s finding those things that can lift you that are already there. I’d liken it to “Where’s Waldo.” if you are not familiar, it is a game you play with your kids looking for Waldo and specific items inside a picture. There are many things in that picture, but your goal is to find Waldo. My kids and I had a ton of fun playing that game and just looking at everything in the picture. There were strange little people with bug eyes, tall people, short people, people doing weird things like play calliopes, and a variety of other items. What’s funny is that as we were laughing and paying attention to the things that were making us laugh, we always ended up finding Waldo.
I’m suggesting that life is the same way. It’s not like you will wake up and suddenly realize you have won the lottery. You may win the lottery later in the day, and you may not. Along the way, you may find a dime on the floor and put it in your pocket, then a quarter. Someone may smile at you and tell you something nice about yourself. Someone may let you merge into traffic without turning it into a crazy bumper car session. The smell of flowers may waft past your nostrils. A hundred other things might happen that are very positive for you, and whether you win the lottery or not, you suddenly are looking at the positive things.
Yeah, I know. We seem to be trained to ignore the positives and look at the negatives. Despite places trying to report good news, all you hear are negatives. Someone will talk about getting sick at a restaurant, but they won’t talk about the thousands of people that enjoyed that restaurant without getting sick. (Yeah, I know it could be a dumb example, but I liked it) my point is that there are so many potential negatives and positives that we have a choice in looking at them. Even if we’re sick or feeling bad, we can easily say we made it through one more night.
I know a young woman who is going through chemotherapy. She has maintained her dignity and positivity throughout the ordeal, even though it has been horribly difficult. I think she does this because people support her. I know I do. I talked to a very good friend this week that was going through a horrible situation. When I asked how he was, he had a simple answer, “I am better than yesterday and not quite as good as I’ll be tomorrow.” if we all took that attitude, our days would always be amazing.
So as the sun sets on another day, look for the positives. They’re out there waiting for you, and you should be waiting for them. Make them yours and enjoy all the time you have, no matter what.
Sleep sweet, love life, and keep being fantastic…