Happiness is an attitude adjustment away.

Ever have someone be mean to you, and ruin your day because you just couldn’t get it out of your mind?

This month, I had an opportunity to meet a ton of other food bloggers at one of the largest food blogger conferences in the country and it was incredible! Blogging can be a lonesome job and I try not to miss a chance that puts me in close proximity with creative people. Most of us were connected digitally through social networks but were meeting each other for the first time, which meant that the whole experience was a little overwhelming. Screams, hugs and words were exchanged as our mental images of each other were given a physical form, which may or may not have been what we imaged them to be. So, someone blurted out something to me in passing that would cause a normal person to take offence, but unfortunately (or fortunately), I am not normal. To me, it was a funny, funny anecdote that I will tell people for a long time, because I truly found it amusing.

A friend of mine was standing next to me at the time, and sweet soul that she was, took more offence than I did, and spent a nearly sleepless night worrying about my feelings and how this person could be so harsh. Except, I slept like a rock.

Give them a backstory.

How? Whenever someone is supposedly mean to me, I always give them a backstory. People aren’t bad, they are good. Circumstances, or rather how we react to them, is what makes us bad. Nobody wakes up in the morning thinking ‘Hmm, I wonder whose joy I can suck today?’ But life happens: say you’re stuck in a traffic jam for hours, reach the office super late and your boss is extremely mad at you for missing that 9 a.m. meeting. I cannot imagine you being a cheery person that day. Say you reached your hotel after a long flight, opened your bag and saw that your favorite shampoo/perfume bottle had exploded on all your clothes. That’s not a good day for anyone.

When you meet people who are having trouble being nice to others, give them an imaginary backstory that explains their behavior. So, instead of hating them for being mean to you, you’d just feel bad for them and maybe, wish them a better day tomorrow.

When someone is mean to you, even if they are generally a mean person, your reaction to that circumstance isn’t going to affect the meanie. Rather, it will affect you, fester in your mind, eat at you all day, and maybe longer. Don’t let circumstances weigh you down. It’s not them, it’s not you, it’s the situation. Give them a backstory and move on.

Happiness is just an attitude adjustment away. This world is so huge and full of so much wonder and intrigue. It is also riddled with crime, injustices, aggressiveness and a whole lot of trash (and actual trash too!). The way you choose to see things defines how you react to them. I choose to see the wonder. I choose happiness. Therefore, I am. You can be too.

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” – T.S. Eliot

Yours in happiness,

Give them a backstory.

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