Perspective

I wrote 4 goals to accomplish in 2018. I'm on my way to making sure 3 of them are accomplished by the end of December. But, one of them I've struggled with: Choosing joy every day. It's always been easy for me to see the negative side of things. I try not to let it show but sometimes it does. Sometimes I say ugly things about others in an attempt to make myself feel better. Sometimes I  put myself into a funk, focusing on the negative.

But, twice this week, my morning devotions focused on perspective. Then I read an Instagram story about a lady who changed her perspective toward her husband, which helped their marriage tremendously. It was the wake up call I needed.

So yesterday, I focused on changing my perspective. For example, when one of my students told me he lost his glasses, instead of thinking "Well, that's typical. Of course he did." I thought "How can I help him be successful in my class until he finds his glasses?" I also went to the place where he said he lost them and asked if they had been returned to Lost and Found. When I was at Spin class, struggling to finish class, instead of grumbling about how hard it was, I focused on the fact that it may be the only time I get to the gym this week so I better give it 110%. I'll be honest. This last situation took some prayer to change my perspective because it's a constant pet peeve of mine. Rob came in from work and immediately fell asleep. At first I thought, "Really? He's been gone for 10 days and he can't even take time to play with the boys outside or do yard work?", "He kept me up most of the night, snoring, and yet he can come in and go to sleep while I help P with homework and do my own schoolwork?" I'm not gonna lie. I had this mentality until I left for the gym. But then I prayed about it and slowly changed my mindset to, "I'm glad I have a husband who works hard enough to come home tired at the end of his work day." 

Feeding on the negative doesn't do any good. In fact, it takes a lot of unnecessary energy. It also doesn't make you any fun to be around. So, I am working on changing my perspective, finding the positive, the good, instead of the negative. I am excited to finish 2018 strong and to CHOOSE JOY every day!