I want to change my outlook. I realized that most of my posts as of late have focused on the negatives. "No money! Hard hours! My life doesn't SUCK, but wah wah wah it's not EAAAASYYY!!! Pity me, wah wah wah..." Yeah, it's not been pretty, has it?
You have my apologies. My blog is most definitely a glimpse into my heart and mind. If my heart and mind are that centered on the crappy elements in my otherwise good life, then I obviously need a good kick in the ass.
I want to have a more positive attitude. And I want to be able to do this ALL the time. Or at least MOST of the time... Is that really possible?
Let me sip my coffee and brew on that for a moment....
Ok, Here's my reflection: I CAN be positive. In fact, I'm sure of it. (I love ironic puns, don't you?) But if I am to make this work, I must also allow myself to feel the valleys. I cannot ignore the emotions that come naturally to me. Blocking sadness or discouragement will only make me fill with repressed emotions. And trust me when I say that getting backed up on ANYthing in your life will only land you in the emergency room getting treated for constipation to the tune of thousands of dollars.
I'm thinking of a daily gratitude journal thing. But Oprah did that, and I don't want to seem like I'm one of her minions (unless you are here from Oprah's site and want to interview me on my highly original and brilliant takes on the world and parenting. Then, by all means, CALL ME! I'm TOTALLY a fan!) But I do believe that I can commit to a month of writing down at least 1 thing (or more! I'm open to very, very happy days!) a day that I am truly grateful for. And while I will try to make each day a new item, I won't beat myself up for repeating once in a while.
Damn. The writing in this post sucks.
Shit. That's not positive, is it? Aaarrrggghh!! This isn't going to be easy.
OK! Shaking it off! Gratitude Day Numero Uno:
I am grateful for...
... my coffee and the fact that there's a full pot waiting for me...
... it's Monday so we'll see Patrick for a few more hours tonight....
... seeing my nieces and nephew this weekend. I'm not playing favorites, but my godson is freakin adorable right now. He made me laugh and laugh and laugh...
... air conditioning. Yes, it will cost us a pretty penny, but with a heat index of over 115 this week, we NEEDED the a/c. Not all families even HAVE one...
... Patrick agreed to homeschooling Evan this year. We're giving it a full year of honest effort. I think he deserves the chance to have the experience. I'm so glad Pat is willing to try again...
On that note, I am off to spread my Pollyanna attitude to all of you lovelies. Get ready to puke from perkiness!
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18 comments:
It's easy to do...i am gui9lty...i complain more than I should
My life would be so boring if I couldn't complain. It's so effing hot here today. See? I can't even get through this comment without doing it. Truthfully though, I have it pretty darn good. I like the one thing I'm grateful for each day bit, even if Oprah came up with it.
It is hard to focus of the positives when you are going through such a stressful time. But bravo to you for attempting! :)
A little pukey perky never hurt anybody. that said - I'm going to have to email you tonight with Schmutzies's Grace in Small Things thing. Bloggers contribute the 'good news' stuff going on in their lives and then once a week or so she compiles everything and it goes out to everybody.
That way you maintain your freedom of choice in your blog.
It is so easy to complain rather than look on the bright side!!
After reading your post, I'm definitly going to be keeping an eye omn how much I'm complaining!!
It's hard to be positive. Did you know that 75% of what we read, hear and view is negative? So no wonder we fall into the same trap. I'm a natural pessimist, but over the last few years have been making a real effort to change my attitude. I made my own gratitude journal, which I kept religiously for about 3 months. Now I write in it sporadically, but I've noticed a huge change in my mindset. It's a great idea, I recommend it!! Even if you can only write something like "I enjoyed my glass of wine tonight when the kids were in bed", it is SOMETHING. And then there will be days where you can think of TONS of stuff, and it's really uplifting.
Somebody else mentioned the "Grace in Small Things" blog ... I have some friends who read that and then post their own lists, and it seems like a fabulous concept!
who ya kiddin'?! Sometimes, life just sucks! It's ok. You have a sense of humor to make up for the complaining!! There's always tomorrow...
Good luck with that...
You should check out Merlot Mommy's 'Give Me the Grateful Life Mondays". It forces you to think of something positive. Big or small.
Good for you! I'm trying to do this myself and I understand the difficulty.
Of course, now that I know Oprah is on this positive bandwagon, I might have to rethink my participation. I make it a general rule to be diametrically opposed to all things "Oprah". ;)
Oh yes, be grateful for than a/c. What I would give to have it in our house!
haha, that was a great post! I feel the same way lots and lots of the time. I get into those funks where I just write and talk about negative things although I don't think my life sucks either...but it just feels so damn good sometimes!
Coffee and AC who could ask for anything more...oh and maybe family/friends!
This post is both really funny and really inspiring. I've been trying to focus on the positive as well!
"Like Miralax for the Mind" is one of the best blog post titles ever.
What a great post! Thanks for making me reflect about my own negative thinking. Definitely something we all could work on.
I am a curmudgeon-in-training with a post-grad in cynicism. I've been working on at least not vocalizing it as much.
It's totally okay to be down in the dumps once in a while. It's just a part of life. It makes us that much more grateful for the good times!
I agree, it is hard to keep positive sometimes. Good job for finding some positive to focus on!
I feel ya, girl! I am trying to maintain Pollyanna as I return to work from the best July off with my boys ever. It is hard, but if I can't, I know I will be foul and cranky when I do get home to them. Keep it up!
Lol, I'm ready, bring on the perky. I don't find you overly negative. I love you because you are honest, loving and optimistic, and you share the positive and negative parts of life!
Happy people piss me off.
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