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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Project Smile

This week has one of those weeks that I feel like the world is personally attacking me every day. Have you ever seen those cartoons where a small rain cloud follows directly above a certain person? Well lately, that person is me. Can someone PLEASE just cut me a break?! Well, when it rains it pours right? Wrong. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain. (Like how I tied in two quotes there? I do.)

So now what, sit and sulk? Curl up in a ball and let the dark clouds win? No. You have to take charge and realize that the only thing that controls your mood, your day, and your life, is you. I have learned that life is all about choices, my choices. I choose what I wear, who I talk to, where I go, and what I do. So who’s to say what kind of mood I am going to be in? No monthly gift, unaligned stars, or rainy day is going to tell me how to feel today.

Yes, my husband is deployed. I miss him more than words can explain and I would love more than anything in the world to just go to sleep and wake up the day he comes home, but the real world doesn’t work like that. It is impossible to speed up time, trust me, I have tried. The world doesn’t stop when he is gone, although at times I feel like my world has come to a screeching halt, the real world is still spinning. So the best thing that I can think of to pass the time till he is home is to allow my world to continue, jump on the crazy ride called my life, and enjoy it. Starting now.

If you don’t like something in your life or the direction something is going, change it. If it is something you can’t change, change your outlook on it. Everything has 2 sides, a good and a bad, although we don’t always see it that way. It’s human nature to look at the negative side of a “negative situation”. Try looking at things from a different point of view. Example: Your loved one is deployed. You have every reason to be sad and depressed. Now look at it this way: Do you know how lucky you are to have found an amazing man? Someone who loves you and wants to be with you and only you? Some people search their whole lives for the one person they are meant to be with, you’re lucky enough to have found him. So smile, be happy, and enjoy your life. Even though he is far away and missing him hurts, it would hurt a lot more to not have him in your life at all right? See how I did that? Changing your outlook on things can make a situation do a complete 180 and it will do the same thing to your mood. So don’t dwell on the negative, choose to bask in the positive.

This is my new goal: everyday for the next 10 days I am going to write down 3 things that I have in my life that make me happy, reasons I have to smile, and things I have to be grateful for. I am going to call it “Project Smile” and I encourage you all to do the same thing. I am going to blog it all too and at the end of the day I am going to tell you (truthfully) how I am feeling, whether I am still sad or if Project Smile actually worked that day.

PS: This applies to EVERYONE. Not just people who have a loved one overseas. Everyone has struggles in their lives, so I encourage everyone, no matter what your situation is, to try this also.

Wish me luck :)

2 comments:

  1. This is great Emily! I hope it's going well for you! 3 things? I bet you can go for 10! ;)

    - Greg

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  2. Thanks Greg :) Project Smile was a huge success! These last 10 days have been amazing. I don't know if I would have been able to do 10 things, 3 was hard enough lol. Hope you are doing great :)

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