I've found that it is SO much easier to be positive than it is to be negative nancy all the time. All the energy I used to spend being negative has changed my life! That's THAT much more energy I have to put towards being active or doing things for others.
Turning things that someone else would normally find negative into a positive thing has been the most liberating and best thing I have done in a while! For example, I drive back and forth from Jacksonville to LR for school. That's about a 25-40 minute drive (depending on traffic and how many cops i spot on the way in!). The first reaction that comes from most people when I say something about it is usually a negative comment--"oh, that sucks!" "oh, you poor thing", etc. I have yet to hear a positive comment about it. Well, I choose for that travel time to not be a negative thing or a drag! It would only make the drive home that much worse! Instead, I use it as time to reflect on the day ahead/behind me. I listen to KLOVE 99% of the time, so it serves as a personal worship time for me sometimes. Yes, I have been driving and have found myself wanting to close my eyes and lift my hands to the Lord! (this probably isn't the best thing..but I am safe about worshiping and driving simultaneously!!!). It is some of the only time in a day I spend alone, so it's winding down, chill time. Anyways, that's just one example of how I have turned negative things into positive things. Trust me, I have so many more examples that are so much better than this..but this is one I don't mind sharing with the WWW!
I would consider myself to be an optimist in a world of a lot of pessimist. Yes, I have my pessimistic moments but I am definitely driven by positive things in my life.
There isn't a moment that goes but that I doubt God's goodness. Okay, so maybe that's a stretch. I do have moments when I wonder if He really knows what's best for me. But I quickly get slapped in the face and am reminded that Yes, indeed--GOD TRULY KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR ME!--.
[[The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
Psalm 145:9]]