The Buzz: Happy people focus on positives

Often in the ups and downs of life, we have a tendency to focus on the negatives. At times it seems like there is nothing but negatives that happen, and sometimes there are just a string of negative things, one after another.  Something in the house breaks down, and the next thing we know the car isn’t running right. Then we have a flat tire.   We go to the store after that one ingredient we need as we are caught in the middle of fixing this dish and discover we don’t have something. Upon arriving at the store we head down the aisle where the item should be, and alas, they have run out of the item or no longer stock it.
We wake up with a sore throat that is the beginning of a cold and get up to go to the bathroom and stub our toe. Ever pick up something out of the refrigerator and suddenly the item, usually a gallon of milk, slips from your fingers and spashes all over the kitchen floor?  
You rush to the mailbox after you have seen the mailman drive by and look for that check or card or something you have been waiting it seems like forever for. As you reach the mailbox, out of breath, you open the box and discover only circulars in the mailbox and disappointment sets in.
I could go on and on listing the negative things that seem to come, one right after another, until we seem to be totally overwhelmed at the moment.  I’ve had several of those days, and some have happened right in a row, one after the other. It can’t seem like just one thing goes wrong, it seems like others come right along with it.
I have a friend who is always talking about the negatives and the positives. He says for every negative there is a positive.
Well, the negative in going to the store for that one ingredient may not have a positive other than you were able to get out and get to the store. There are some people that are not that fortunate to be able to do that. Maybe physically or financially, they can’t just run to the store after one ingredient.  
That sore throat and stubbing our toe just doesn’t have much of a positive unless it is that we are able to get out of bed. Some people can’t do that. Some people would be grateful to be able to get out of bed, even if it meant stubbing a toe.
The same applies to being able to dash out to the mailbox. Some people can’t do that either.
My friend said when we are faced with negatives in life, start thinking of all the positives in life that we have. It goes right along with counting your blessings and having a sense of gratitude. After all, it is the little things in life that count.
I think often times, and I do it too, we focus on all the wrong things that are going on with us. When people ask how we are, it is human to relate all the negatives. My friend says to focus on the positives. So, in the hopes that I can remember that, the next time someone asks how I am, I can say ‘great’ for the most part and rattle off a few of those positives that I have been blessed with. I will strive to stay focused on the positives and it’s quite possible the negatives will not seem quite so negative.