Finding the Bright Side: Flipping Negativity on It’s Head

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Sometimes, I’m annoyed by how annoyed I get.
 
I can get so annoyed by things that I reach a point where I can’t easily snap out of it. And in general, my look on life and the world is bleak. The other evening, I thought to myself, “I am annoyed by every living thing, and anything they touch, say or do.” Great attitude, right?
 
Well, I have found myself a way to appreciate things and people more and more these days and it all started with Facebook. Now, I recognize the irony of that statement. Facebook has been known to easily ruin my day just by a single post, article or moment of weakness where I actually read comments on a popular article. Never, just never, read those comments. You’ll lose all hope in humanity.
 
Why do people comment anyways?!?! You are one comment in a sea of hundreds, sometimes thousands of comments. So, who is the comment for? The original author probably won’t read it. It’s probably just to spit it out into the universe to make yourself feel “productive”. Anyways, that’s a whole other post. End rant.
 
This time was different. I have hidden most people that could taint my day with their posts, so most of what I see are the good things– babies, babies and more babies. This time, I saw a friend had posted a picture of a page out of a journal and the words on it immediately changed my perspective. Finally, I had a weapon to fight against the negativity in my own head.
That’s it! I immediately forwarded it to one of my besties from college, who is also in the thick of parenting many small humans.  We both agreed it was awesome. And the best thing is, it makes you try to see the positive of every situation. Most on the list definitely pertains to me. But now, when faced with a negative thought about my life, I add it to this list and find the positive.

I have a wide range of ages with my kids. So, although I do sometimes get questions about homework from my 10-year-old son, my day is also filled with toddler questions; why’s, what’s, who’s, where’s, how’s. I get asked for snacks 1000 times a day, or a refill of a sippy cup. Just this morning, I was woken early in the morning by my three year old son yelling for me from his toilet to come wipe his butt. Now, who wouldn’t want to wake up to that? One thing that has been annoying to me in the past is how much my five month old daughter is attached to me. I know it sounds horrible, but she literally is the most high maintenance child I have ever had. She doesn’t let anyone hold her except for me and my husband… and honestly, she barely tolerates him. My husband will usually take her for me when he gets home to give me a break. But the whole time he has her, she keeps her eyes on me. Tracks my every move. Flattering yes, but also quite obsessive. She recently started sleeping with me because she wasn’t sleeping well on her own. I have never had to do that with my other kids. But now, she sleeps through the night. Here is how I flip those things that annoy me into things that I am grateful for: 

Kids asking incessantly about any and everything all day = They trust what I say and look to me as a teacher. I’m grateful I get to be that person.
Being woken up every day with my son’s morning poop demands = At least he is potty trained and I am not changing that diaper.
My kids asking for snacks and drinks all day long = We have the ability to provide for them so they don’t have to ever feel hungry.
My daughter literally not giving me a moment away from her = HELLO?! I have a daughter!!!! I am so grateful for her and I know we will be close always.
 
It’s so easy to do, Mommas. If you are feeling like there are more negatives than positives in your day, it’s easy to flip it around. It’s all about perspective and it’s all about being GRATEFUL. It’s tiring doing what we do, but I think I can speak for most of us that we wouldn’t want it any other way.