I tend to lean toward pessimism, so I try to catch myself and retrain the brain to be optimistic. I’m not always successful, but that’s okay, I’ll do better next time. See, that’s an optimistic attitude.
So, one day last week, when something went wrong in my morning, my mind immediately thought about Murphy’s Law.
In order to get to my point, I’m going to summarize the story.
I had several errands to run, plus a chiropractor appointment. Before I even made it out of my subdivision, I witnessed the car in front of me hit a squirrel. This shook me up and threw my energy way off.
I said a little prayer/affirmation for the squirrel and drove to the first place I needed to go for my errands. I parked the car, and when I went to pull the key out of the ignition, it was stuck. Sometimes this can happen if the gear is not completely in park. For the next fifteen minutes, I tried a myriad of different ways to get that key out of the ignition, to no avail.
I needed to get to my chiropractor appointment. Thankfully, there was no problem with starting the car, only removing the key. It was a short five-minute drive, and when I arrived, the key still would not release from the ignition.
Another thing I tend to lean toward is anxiety when I feel out of control. My mind spun with all of the possibilities to help me control the situation. Should I leave the keys in the car and go in for my appointment? Should I call my husband? Should I call AAA? My nerves frazzled. Then I remembered something that I learned many years ago when I was in al-anon.
If you’re having a bad day, you can start it over at any time. Two o’clock in the afternoon, eight o’clock at night, decide the day is going to go better from that point on, and it will.
After a deep breath, I called my husband and then went in to see the chiropractor. After the adjustment, I calmly took the few short steps from his office into the massage therapist’s room. While nimble fingers worked to melt knotted muscles the size of fists, my husband drove over and switched vehicles with me. He took the misbehaving car to the automotive shop where he works. The key was free from the ignition a few hours later.
The rest of my day went smoothly, with all of my gratitude going toward my wonderful husband who calms the waters of my stormy seas.
Now this blog post is here forever, and I’ll have no excuses not to start my day over, ever again.
Lori's Lane 
Smiling. How many days have we had like this and have gone to bed still making judgments about something that happened early in the morning? What a great inspirational post! It’s funny; I’m optimistic by nature and Barry’s more pessimistic. It’s funny how the world needs both.
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So true, Kathy. My husband and I are the same, except he’s the more optimistic by nature. I think we need to balance each other out so as not to get too deep in one way of thinking. Sometimes he needs to remind me of the “light” right in front of me, and sometimes I need to pull his head out of the clouds. Thank you for reading this, and for your welcome input.
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I needed to read this. Sometimes, when my morning starts off on the wrong foot, I tell myself that the rest of the day is going to go downhill. I never seem to remember that my own attitude plays a big part in which direction the day takes. Thanks for reminding me to keep things in perspective.
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So glad you made it over and liked the read, Terri. Thanks for the comment.
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Congratulations on turning things around and thanks for the great reminder…of course the day, life, can begin again at any moment with a fresh new positive start. It’s a choice. Easily said, but not do easily done…though perhaps more easily done with the help of a calm loving husband:-)
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The calm, loving husband was likely 70% of why I turned thing around, the massage being the other 30%. It’s very difficult for me to calm down when I feel out of control (stressed). Thankfully, for once, I let go and let someone else take over. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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This post makes me appreciate our car’s keyless system even more! 😉 What a great attitude to take toward a day that starts off on the wrong foot. I’m someone who stresses over little things, so it doesn’t take much for my day to go south. I’ll try to remember this post, though, and restart those days.
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I stress at little things all the time. I was really starting to feel it build. The negative energy from stressing can spread more negativity. At least that’s been my experience. This was one of the first times I was actually successful in doing this, and of course, the massage certainly didn’t hurt. Thanks for reading and commenting, JM.
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You definitely make your point very well and what a perfect time for an adjustment and massage! 🙂 I’ve dealt with severe anxiety and a car can really antagonize them. Very uplifting and wise post here.
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I believe in acknowledging emotions first, but after I acknowledged the bad start to the day, and how my anxiety began to act up, I decided to start over from there. Thanks Pete, for reading it and for the nice comment.
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I could feel the stress as you told about the key. I’ve had that kind of problem before too. You were lucky to have your husband come help you. That’s what husbands are supposed to do, as we wives do for them. Glad it all worked out.
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Yep, men are good for a couple of things. Seriously, I am grateful for him and for the way the day turned out. Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Anneli.
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Lori, it’s so true what they say .. that a bad day or a good day is all in our own attitude against the day. Glad that everything was solved, that you got your treatment … and happy ending on your day.
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I was ready to consider it a bad day, but so glad I switched my thoughts around. Glad I went in for that massage too. Thanks for stopping by and commenting my friend.
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For all the husband bashing that goes on out there, they can really do some pretty great stuff. My husband takes full responsibility for our cars, and he would have come and taken care of the problem just like your husband did. And I let him assume this responsibility. I have plenty of my own to contend with!
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Husbands are great that way, aren’t they? I don’t have grown children or siblings to call in case of emergency, but I’m blessed to have my husband. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Carrie.
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So glad you have a husband that can do this for you! I love the drawings at the top!
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I don’t have much in the family department to call in case of an emergency, but I am blessed with my wonderful husband of 27 years. Thanks for stopping by, Linda.
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