Tell Yourself How Lucky You Are
Tiffany Lei
"Too often we
underestimate the power
of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
Leo Buscaglia
2018 started on the wrong
foot for me. I like to think of myself as a
positive person who makes the most of things when things
are going wrong, but as 2018 flew by, I realized that I lost sight of a
part me who would let the little things make me happy. This is
something I discovered recently when I watched my school’s
production of Seussical. In the musical, before the second act, the
song ‘How Lucky You Are’ really opened my eyes and reminded me
of how I needed to live for the happy things.
Sometimes it is tough to remain positive when you are having the worst day
possible, but I think the easiest way to stay happy consistently is to think positively and take the small things into account. Of course, this method isn’t for everyone. Something I ’ve done over the years is type out little messages that people
have sent me or nice things that have happened to me in my notes on my
phone and put them in chronological order. When I feel upset or need
some motivation, I look through them and immediately feel happy.
It doesn’t always work, but it always brightens my day one way
or another.
When I’m having a
bad day, I like to take the long way
home on the bus. I enjoy sitting in the back,
specifically in the corner seat and listen to music. It’s
really relaxing for me because I don’t have any particular
thoughts. Of course, I know that we never stop thinking, but my
thoughts mainly concentrate on the music I’m listening to rather
than negative thoughts that usually overwhelm me. On the bus, I get to
“lose myself.” There aren’t any responsibilities or expectations that I have
to live by because I’m by myself. All I have to worry about is myself in that
particular moment. It gives me a really pleasant and peaceful feeling.
It can be tough to tell yourself how lucky you are, but being able to see
past all the things that don’t matter can make life so much easier.
Rather than being upset about the things that you don’t have, it is so
much better and easier to be grateful for the things that we have.