Put on a happy face

Two things I try to keep in mind. One is, when things are looking bad, imagine the earth the size of an orange, then stand back from it, pinpoint where you think you might be and see the minuscule impact (oops, I mean effect) made by what you have just experienced or what you have just done. Perhaps this is not an appropriate way to deal with major upsets or true grief, but other happenings that seem overwhelming for a short while, or even those events that involve embarrassment, will soon melt into obscurity if you do the orange ‘trick’.

The other things I try to do is tell myself the mantra of ‘happiness is a choice’. Sure, things can annoy, things can upset, things can make you grumpy or sad, but you can always choose to be happy. Once you have chosen to be happy (even when not truly feeling that way) you usually end up being happy – at least for that day. Then, of course, you adopt the same attitude next time. Easy? Not really; not always, but still better than the alternative.

That’s my little piece of advice for today. And now I’m off to the dentist and I’m choosing to be happy about it and seeing myself as smaller than a pinprick on an orange, so imagine how small my tooth is. Nothing to worry about!

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