Don’t Ask Me, “How Are You?”

Is it just me or does it seem harder and harder to be grateful?  When did pessimism become the new thing?

Any form of gratefulness seems to diminish slowly, and not only is it frustrating but also heartbreaking.  I don’t know about you, but lately, when I ask people how they’re doing, the negative answers of what’s wrong seem to out weight the positive ones.  A few weeks ago I had coffee with an individual, our gathering lasted an hour and a half and 80% of it was spent grumbling.  I was on the verge of experiencing a panic attack due to the overwhelming negativity.  It took self-control on my part not to jump up and scream “look at all the good that’s happening in your life, a well-paid and very comfortable job, a family that loves and adores you, friends that will help in any way…so on and so forth.” But I knew that wasn’t the way to go. 

Just as being a pessimist is a habit we encourage and build upon, so is gratefulness.  But gratefulness is an appreciative and refreshing habit that not only will it change your attitude in life and your outcome but it will also make you more pleasant to be around 🙂

Life is too short to spend it complaining and focusing on what tears you down mentally and emotionally.  Instead, focus on the positives.  It might be difficult in the beginning but create self-awareness of the words you are declaring into this world.  Shift your mindset and embrace the amazing person you are designed to be.  Make it a goal to out weight your negative struggles with gratefulness, even when things are bad, find one thing to be grateful for and watch the shift take place.  Your socks may not match but at least your feet are warm.

Last week, my mother’s doctor found a mass in her gallbladder; this came five months after having her open heart surgery (which she is still recovering from).  My sisters and I knew that crying and complaining would only get us so far, so we started looking for the positives.  And although that list consisted of one item, our gratefulness was the doctors found the mass in the same year as her surgery which meant mom had met her deductible and any further doctor visits and procedures will be covered by the insurance.  Luckily, the mass was negative and mom is fine.  It was refreshing to laugh at our single item list of positives amid the storm and be grateful for what we could. 

So today, instead of asking yourself how am I doing?  Ask yourself, what am I grateful for?