revolutionary in training

We’ve all had those days where everything just seems to go wrong. Traffic is bad, you arrive late for work, and at noon when those hunger pains start to kick in you realize the sandwich you dutifully made the night before is still sitting in your fridge at home. These situations are bound to happen and when they do it’s easy to feel as though life is out to get you. My new found perspective that we choose the life we live, leads me to think that rather than letting life get to us, we should be out to get life.

There are always (at least) two sides to every story, such as this morning for example. I took BART (the local metro system, not the Simpson’s character) into San Francisco and got off before my stop to find a free WiFi cafe. After wandering around without success, I found myself back on transit, this time standing in an overcrowded train which didn’t move for almost 20 minutes due to system problems. In the past I would have allowed my WiFi misadventure to upset me and then be further disgruntled at the cramped – and delayed – train ride.

On the flip side, I’ve now discovered a website locating all the WiFi spots in the Bay Area and even better, found a wonderful little Italian cafe, Emporio Rulli, right in downtown San Francisco in beautiful Union Square. Even as I write this I’m sitting in Rulli sipping the most fabulous espresso this side of Italy, having just encountered a handsomely dressed Italian fine jeweler, Hugo, who assured me that my beauty and charisma would one day endow me a talk show of my own.

As you can see, these two ways of looking at the same situation afford very different experiences. The first viewpoint, often called ‘realism’ by the glass half-empty crowd, leaves one feeling frustrated, disappointed and angry. The latter, which many refer to as ‘positive thinking’, empowers the individual to feel happy and content, despite less than satisfactory circumstances.

These days I’m determined to think positively about life; not just about what comes my way, but consciously choosing to see the many wonderful opportunities I can take hold of. Because I’ve decided I’d rather be happy than not, and I’m realizing this simple concept is not as complicated to achieve as I once thought. So I encourage you to give it a try. Next time your experience of life is less than happy, choose to see the positive side of it and I’ll bet you’ll find yourself walking on the sunny side of the street.