Looking on the bright side

     I recently attended a local youth soccer game and I was helping one of the teams out. So I'm standing on the sideline, it's the second half, and I couldn't help but notice that the other team's coaches were really negative. Now, I know that saying things behind people's backs is not okay but it really reminded me about how important it is to be encouraging and focus on the positive, uplifting things.
     I think that sometimes we forget to congratulate those we know. But, you know what's interesting? We seem to be very quick to judge and point out others faults and weaknesses.
     Can we at least strive to recognize the accomplishments of our family members, friends and co-workers? I think so.
     I play soccer (or football) and I've found that you've got to look on the bright side. Because, let's face it, "you're going to win some, you're going to lose some," as one of my coaches once said. So look on the good side. It's kind of like that saying that says something like, "if you think you're going to lose, you're right."
     Besides, when you look on the bright side, you feel better about it later. That's because you recall the good things that happened, not just the bad things. And the good things are things  you can be a little proud of.

"You never see a fault in anybody. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in your life." ~Elizabeth Bennet about her sister, Jane. Pride and Prejudice.

      I wish this could be said of me. I'm still working on it and that's okay because everyone is. Judging and seeing the faults in others, that's natural. But if we can remember to see the positive things that happened, we're happier. (And, you know, soccer is just a game. And as players, we just want to play. Sure we want to win and it feels great when we do but we're not going to die or anything if we don't.)

We don't choose the consequences, either good or bad, that come from the choices we make but we do get to choose our reactions.