Practice an Attitude of Gratitude

Sometimes stuff happens, and it can really get us feeling down. Isn't it true that if something isn't going on right now, your next curve-ball is just waiting around the corner? Life tends to do that to us, "If it isn't one thing, it's another." Bad news at work, the kid failing his classes, the roof has a leak, tragic passing of a family member and on and on. Well, the constant events happening one after the other can stress us out and get us feeling like we will never recover and then we get stuck in that negative state of mind.

I caught myself starting to fall into this downward spiral the last couple of days. It all started with bad news at work. I was so upset and literally in tears because I felt like I was being punished by management. I still did my job the only way I know how, trying to hold back tears of frustration and my disappointment the rest of the day. Later, I started having some pain in my right wrist, but continued to get things done, just a little slower. That evening as I tried to cope with the pain and memories of the day, everything came to a boiling point. I could no longer hold back the tears, I was a mess. I had a hard time doing anything, my husband had to help me get dinner served and some chores. While I just sat around with an ice pack, barely able to wipe away my own tears of despair.

I stayed home from work for a couple of days to recover from my injury. Who knew how long it would be to become a lefty? I couldn't even pinpoint what I did to hurt myself. Resting is not an activity I do very well, because I have so many responsibilities. Left alone to wrestle with my inner thoughts I decided I was going to stop feeling so sorry for myself. I was tired of the tears and willing to just get on with the usual. That is when it all changed...something clicked in my brain.

I started thinking of how thankful I am to have a husband willing to help me out and understand when I need assistance. I am not the kind of person that likes to ask for help, and knowing that about me he just stepped in when I needed him to. Even my teenage son, normally in his own world asked "Is there anything you need me to do?" My heart did a cartwheel inside my chest. I also started to think of this recovery time as a convenient time to get some of my classwork done instead of feeling so depressed about being useless.

Then, I thought back to the event at work that had me feeling all frustrated. You know what? I am still be grateful that I have a job to provide for my family. I wasn't in trouble for anything as far as I knew, so maybe management made the decision they did because they knew I can handle what they throw at me. Or, maybe this is supposed to be a learning experience to not take things for granted. Maybe this was that gentle reminder that this job is only temporary, until I finish school and get my business off the ground. That night I was finally able to rest. My wrist has even started to feel like I wouldn't be a lefty forever.

If there was only one piece of advice that I can give to others it would be this: Life is what you make of it only about 10% of the time, the other 90% is how you take it. We may not ever be able to control the things that happen in our lives, but we can control our reactions. Practicing an attitude of gratitude when life is throwing tons of lemons at you, will help you remember that an abundance of lemons lead to fresh squeezed lemonade, rather than being a miserable sour-puss buried under a pile of lemons.