Look at the Bright Side
An old cliché you’ve probably heard a million times that it’s lost its meaning.
Imagine getting out of the office after finding out that the promotion you’ve been waiting for years wasn’t awarded to you. You feel devastated. On the bus on your way home you are ruminating on how you felt used and replaying those moments of false hopes.
Despite all this, you come home greeted with a surprise from friends and family. It’s your birthday! Colorful confetti, cheerful smiles of excitement and warm hugs…
You felt relieved. Happy, grateful. For a while.
The day ends with you lying on your bed and feeling the negativity linger.
And that’s okay.
You’re genuinely disappointed with everyone, feeling a pain that’s valid and living a reaction that’s completely appropriate.
The point is, it is in our nature to see more of the bad than the good. We are instinctively drawn to give more attention to something that threatens our survival.
Even if you’re in the scenic pastoral Eden, your eyes will zero-in on a snake once you’ve spotted one. Never mind the tree of life standing there with all its glory… never mind the magnificent sun that’s ready for your basking.
Negativity is simply a reaction to something. The problem lies when negativity becomes a lifestyle.
Look at the bright side.
I’m not saying that we should strive to immediately feel good and look for ways to be happy if something bad happens. Instead, we should bear in mind that there are only a few things in life that’s 100% negative.
Didn’t get the promotion? At least you didn’t have to waste another year of your life. If you hadn’t known earlier, then it’s going to take you even longer to decide on your resignation.
Got betrayed by a friend? At least you’ve experienced the betrayal yourself after years of ignoring the red flags. A lot of time could have been wasted building a relationship with someone who hates you for no reason.
People diagnosed with something serious at least know what’s wrong and what to do. Wives who found out their husbands cheated have at least known it earlier, which is probably better than never. A biker who got into a minor accident at least knew the bike wheel needed changing before he went biking on the busier road.
Yet we tend to focus on the feeling that we’re sick and dying, of being cheated on, of having an unlucky day…
Yet everything happens for a reason.
And it’s always for us, never against us.
And there are very few things in life that’s 100% bad.
Always choose to look at the brighter side.