"Attitudes are contagious.
Are yours worth catching?"
Are yours worth catching?"
~Dennis and Wendy Mannering
In any aspect of your life this is 100% the case. No one is immune to "bad" things happening to them, but it is the way that we pick up the pieces and talk to ourselves about these things that determines the kind of person we are.
The Glass Half-Empty People
We have all known someone who is more than willing to look at the negative side of EVERY situation - the people whose glass is always half-empty. Personally, these are the people that I tend to keep at an arm's length. I don't have in depth conversations with them very often because they tend to bring me down too. When it is a situation where I have to have a conversation with a "glass half-empty" person, I try to keep the conversation to the matter we need to discuss and little or no small-talk. Small-talk tends to be the place that allows the most negativity to enter the conversation.
The Glass Is ALWAYS Overflowing People
I think that these people are few and far between in our world - in my opinion, this is a good thing. Have you ever been around someone who is overly positive all of the time. You never hear anything negative come out of their mouth, their life is PERFECT (a bed of roses with no thorns), and their smile seems to be permanately pasted to their face. I tend to shy away from these people also because they seem fake. No one has a life that is perfect and it is okay to show some weakness, talk about problems, etc. Again, it is how you talk about the problems that is important. However, if you ever need a pick-me-up these are great people to call because they have something positive to say EVERY time that you talk with them.
The Glass Half-Full People
These are the greatest, most positive people that I absolutely love to associate with. They are the person who can offer you kind words when "bad" things happen, but they can also offer you a positive side to the situation. When working at home or being a stay-at-home mom, these people are very important in your life. When things go wrong, it is nice to be able to pick up the phone, talk to someone, and come away with a different perspective about the situation. I have noticed that since starting to work-from-home in January of 2010, I have become a glass half-full person for my teammates, family, and myself.
I recently broke a bone in my foot, but rather than dwelling on the things that I can't do, I have picked myself up and I am focusing on the things that I can do. I am thankful that I do not have to have surgery, I am still able to play with and take care of my kids every day, and I have the chance to re-evaluate some choices that I have been trying to make. Although, breaking my foot was not a "positive" event in my life, having a negative attitude about it is not going to change the fact that my foot is broken.
My Challenge
I would like to challenge each of you reading this post to find the positive in every situation. You do not have to acknowledge every situation as positive, but only try and find at least ONE positive thing that can and will come from the negative. What does your glass look like?!?
