Friday, January 7, 2011

Look on the Bright Side



The other day I had a nail in my tire. Unfortunately when it was removed it made the tire go flat. I drove on a donut for a day until it could get fixed. I wasn't happy but was relieved that the tire could be repaired.

When my co-worker today asked how my tire was I told her. We both agreed I was lucky the nail wasn't in the sidewall of the tire, which would make the tire unrepairable. She then shared her experience with
buying four new tires and the very next day getting out of her vehicle and hearing hissing. She had a hole in one of her brand new tires. It disappointed her that she needed to purchase a new tire since hers was unrepairable. She'd just gotten them.

My thoughts of her situation were slightly different. I thought it'd be more of a disappointment to have to change that one tire after you've used them a few thousand miles, since then one new tire and your three old tires would end up wearing differently and it create a change in how the car rides on the pavement, then all the tires would no longer be ready to be replaced at the same time.

She seemed to like that perspective.

I guess that's all our view of experiences are; perspectives.

As children, we're always told to 'look on the bright side'.

That's the foundation for positive thinking;  shifting the angle at which you look at something.

It's not always the easiest thing to do. Changing our perspective takes practice. But when used, it's actually fun. I am not always super positive, I do have my moments but I know that there is a positive spin we can put on almost everything that happens to us.

I find that the most difficult time to do this is when you don't get something you want right away.
At that moment it feels awful that things aren't working out your way. But, having a patient attitude and relaxing, not stressing on the situation, can help.

Try, tomorrow, try to put a positive twist on each thing you view as negative. When I'm really, really in the middle of multiple negative issues, I try hard to think about other ways to view the events. See how many of the uneventful or inconvenient turn out to be perfect.


'I've got a different perspective now because I'm on the outside looking in.'- Charles Davis

Truly,

Amber