Driving home recently, Monkey started telling me what a great letter “G” was in the alphabet. It seemed like an unusual start to a conversation, so I asked him to explain his thoughts to me. Monkey told me he was thinking of all the good words for the letters in the alphabet as we were driving. “G,” for example, can claim such positive words as gifted, genius, gorgeous, generous, great, and grateful–according to Monkey’s description of the letter.
Never turning down an opportunity to discuss seeing the positive in life, I played along with him. We enjoyed the game, tossing out lots of words with positive affirmations for several more letters in the alphabet. At the time, I didn’t realize how helpful Monkey’s game would be for me a few weeks later.
Today, as I emotionally bounce between the letters E (excitement) and T (trepidation), I am playing the positive letter game with myself because today is the day Sean and I close on our second home. The home he will be moving into this week, but the home we will also keep for at least the next eight years. This second home is our unconventional solution to our future living arrangement–one that I go between being excited to have and worrying it will affect our relationship. As Sean said this morning, he is choosing to be positive about this new development in our life together, knowing we will simply be making wonderful memories in two homes instead of one.
Understanding Sean is right about this change in our life and thinking of Monkey’s focus on positive affirmations recently, I have replaced each negative thought with a positive one, simply using Monkey’s word game. For example:
–>F (Friendship): The new, second home is 15 minutes from one of my oldest friends. Someone I am excited to spend more time with now that we will be near each other when in the new home.
–>W (Wine): There are countless wineries to enjoy in this popular wine region for the state.
–>D (Decorating): The second home will also be a blank canvas for us to decorate together; an opportunity not often presented, and one I look forward to doing with Sean.
–>G (Grocery store): My favorite grocery, Wegmanns, is ten minutes from the new home.
–>T (Town Center): There’s a great town center within walking distance from our new community.
–>K (Kitchen): The large, modern kitchen with an island that stretches on forever is a space I love in the new home.
–>E (Exercise): There is a long trail that runs through Virginia for running and cycling, and one entry point is down the street from the new home.
–>C (Crepe Myrtle): One of my favorite trees, and it is in the front yard, right outside my new office window.
–>O (Outdoor fireplace): Curled up on the outdoor sofa with morning coffee, this will be my favorite place to read on cooler mornings.
There are many negative words I could choose to think of today as this big life change happens for us, but instead, taking inspiration from Monkey, I am focusing on all the positive words associated with our new home. Seeing the good in this new life development means less stress, worry, and unhappiness. And, if nothing but positive experiences come from owning this second home, the negative thoughts would all have been a waste of my time and mental energy.
I think Sean is right to be confident this is good for us, and, with that thought, I can add one more letter:
H is for happy and home.
When you find yourself worrying too much, how do you counteract the negative thoughts?
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Comments
6 responses to “G is for Great”
A – alcohol.
I’m kidding… Mostly.
One of the best ways I get out of a funk is to find something that really makes me laugh. Some stand-up, a funny story/post someone wrote, something like that. Once I laugh it out of my system, I’m usually over whatever was bothering me.
The new house most be really exciting. Glad you’re enjoying the adventure.
I had an A-is-for-alcohol moment yesterday, Vinny! Crazy day, but it ended on the deck with a glass (or 2) of wine!
P is for the power of positive prognostication. You have that, in spades!
Awesome attitude! I have to confess that I sometimes do a mental inventory of all the ways something bad could have been worse. I used to play that “what’s the absolute worst that could happen” game to allay various worries, but that’s a slippery slope.
I agree with Vinny. Laughter can cure stuff that hasn’t happened yet. For me, that means cartoons – and whatever George Takei has posted that day.
Thanks for the kind words, Joe. It really helped me to feel better when I was worried about the move.
I really need to participate in this exercise. I’ve been focusing too much on the negative lately. That outdoor fireplace sounds heavenly! Enjoy your new home.
I hope it helps you, SG. It really helped me to focus on the positive last week when I was worrying too much.