How to stay positive: Part 2: Always look on the bright side

In part 1 of this series, we looked at acceptance. I said it was one of the hardest things to do when catastrophes happen. You can read it here if you missed it.

Well, looking on the bright side must seem just as difficult. You probably think it’s totally impossible.

To show that it isn’t, I wanted to share with you a story about someone I met in a hospital waiting room for cancer patients. She would have been in her late 30s, I suppose. A chatty lady, we hit it off well. We talked about her 6 year old son, who lived with her after she separated from her husband in Hong Kong. She was bubbly and seemed very positive about life.

After about 10 minutes, she asked me what sort of cancer I had. I told her and asked her about her own situation. She told me she had terminal colon cancer. I was stunned. So, I asked her how she stayed so positive. Her reply really made me think.

She said she’d decided that she wanted to be happy, so she’d compiled a list of why being a terminal case was good.

She had withdrawn her superannuation because she could now that she was terminal. And it was definitely going to outlast her, so that she could live a good life while she was still here. She would never have to scrimp and save again.

The prospect of getting old had always daunted her. Now, she knew she wouldn’t have to fear it any more.

She would never get osteoarthritis and have to live in a crippled body. Nor would she suffer any of the other chronic diseases of old age.

Her illness meant she was too sick to work any more, and she was enjoying the freedom that gave her.

When she was gone, her son would go back to live with his father, who was a senior executive, and she knew he would live a good life with him. In the meantime, they were doing everything she could think of to create happy memories for him, and they were having such fun together.

She was determined to enjoy the life she had left. It certainly seemed to me she was doing just that.

Isn’t that what we all want? To live a happy life. So, I encourage you to look on the bright side of every situation.

I made a conscious decision to enjoy the freedom of not working too. (Admittedly, I was lucky that money wasn’t an issue.)

When I got stuck on a hospital trolley waiting for a procedure with nothing to read or listen to, I started replaying all my best memories.

Instead of feeling frustrated and bored, I enjoyed those times. It was like reliving the happy periods in my life: falling in love, my wedding, great holidays that I’d enjoyed, and the wonderful places I’d visited. The list was long, and it made me appreciate what a glorious life I’d had. Sometimes, I was sorry when the waiting was over.

I lost a lot of weight because of my medical treatment, which was not a bad thing, but it was a painless way of doing it because I wasn’t hungry anyway.

After an allergic reaction to an antibiotic cocktail, my skin’s top layer completely shed. Not just from my torso and limbs, but even from my eyelids and my feet. Everywhere. I couldn’t help thinking that people paid a lot of money to get a skin peel, and here was I getting a full peel for free. Incidentally, the hard skin on my feet never came back. What a win.

After chemo, I lost the hair from all over my body. Great, there was no need to shave my legs and underarms any more. I would save a fortune in shampoo and conditioner too. And I got a free Brazilian into the bargain.

You get the gist. There are always positives in any situation. The secret is to look for them. What are yours? I’d love to hear them. You can add your comments to the bottom of this article.

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