Day 44: DON’T COMPLAIN ALL DAY
I’m a wanna-be optimist. I would love to see the glass as half full. And some days I do. But I don’t think I’m a universal pessimist either. I guess you can call me an Indecisive Realist. I stare at that glass so intently to try and discern its fullness or emptiness until I either add something to it to make it closer to full or take a sip so it’s closer to empty. That way I have empirical evidence. And I don’t have to make a decision. The glass is clearly, empirically either more full or more empty. Indecisive Realism.
I feel like that glass has been leaning towards empty a lot lately. I tell myself it’s ok to wallow in a half-empty glass of self-pity when my military man isn’t around, and not only is he not around, but he’s not around to deal with things I don’t typically deal with. Like that testy furnace, the river of water flowing in my garage, and the HVAC employees who keep trying to charge me service fees every time they visit to fix what they screwed up.
Today I put an end to the complaining. I added a ray of sunshine to that glass so it was perpetually closer to full than empty. And because I am such a huge fan of empirical evidence, I put a half-full glass of water on my kitchen table to remind me every time I passed it to maintain optimism.
The result? I found that when I stopped the negative thoughts that popped into my head and added some sunshine to make that glass fuller, my mood truly felt a little brighter. And because I was in a good mood, my kids were in a good mood. And because they were in a good mood, I was in a better mood. You see my point.
I can’t claim to be a card-carrying member of the optimist club yet, but I’m pretty confident that my application to the pessimist club would be unequivocally denied. And with that optimistic thought, I’ll now fill that glass half full with some wine.
"Indecisive Realist." I love it — I think I'm in that club, too.
Definitely working on the half full club myself. I've been feeling like it's half empty for awhile, and I'm trying to change that. I don't know if you've ever read The Secret, but it really helped me!
Well Some Days.. It's half full and somedays.. half empty 🙂
Following from FFF on MBC
im glad you put a name on it! because im definitely an indecisive realist too! and because its wine, id say its half full. 😀
Hi Heather. Welcome to the FFF Club!
Nice blog you have here. This is Blessing following you from MBC/FFF.
You can also follow my blog at http://www.safehomehappymom.com
Some people pay humdreds of dollars an hour for that kind of advice. Your choice of glass and liquid is very appropriate.
your doing good sweetie!
keep +++++++ !
heart you! 🙂
xoxoxo
Half full or half empty wine glass? If it were up to me it would be all gone 🙂
I have always said that, while February may be the shortest month on the calendar, it is the longest month of the year. Only four days until March!
I am a Libra and I'm the same way!
Because I work for myself, so I have to be optimistic, even when I don't feel like it.
But by "acting" happy you actually start "feeling" happy, despite circumstances.
The same applies to self confidence, relationships and more….
Love this post–and oh so true.
And I'm not just saying that because you have a glass of wine 🙂
xo & thanks for linking up!
I tagged you on my blog, you should take a look! 😀
all the best!
Oh what a fantastic post! I really, really like this. I love it even more because of the wine! What a great approach to take. I like putting the glass of water out, sometimes it takes something like that to remind us of what we are trying to achieve.
I'm visiting & now following through The Winey Mommy!
You are a beautiful writer Heather.
It is amazing what a little bit of positive thinking can do for you to lift your spirits. Of course, I can't imagine what it would be like to have my husband gone so much, no doubt it would be more difficult to keep my thoughts on the optimistic track!
Can't wait for more stories.
This is great. I relate. My husband is about to go away for 10 weeks on work, leaving me working FT with our 1 year old and his mother living with us too. Deep breaths, glass half full. Always half full of wine.
Your good mood is infectious. Keep sharing.
Thanks for the follow. I'm from MBC. I really like this post. Although it's very difficult for me to imagine what it's like for you and many other military spouses, this piece does say a lot and helps me understand.
I love that this is the one you picked for your linky. I remember being impressed by it the first time I read it, and I was sad to see I didn't comment on it the first time. This IS a great post!