Finding the Positive

One of the lessons I learned very early on in life is that there is more than one way to look at everything. We don't always choose what happens to us, but we certainly choose how we look at it.

At university in St Andrews I was part of the debating society where we had to be able to argue on any topic, and we were not free to choose what side of the argument we were on. This was good training for finding out the plusses and minusses of all sorts of issues.

Later I trained as a lawyer where this became even more important. There are always two sides to every argument, and it is necessary to recognise and hear them both in order for justice to be done.

In life though, I have found the same technique a very useful tool in making life more enjoyable and challenges more bearable. There is a positive and negative side to almost everything. If we choose to focus on the negative then life can sometimes appear very bleak. But if you choose to focus on the positive, and actively take the time to look for it, then life can suddenly feel very different.

Sometimes this can be difficult of course, and with big losses it can often take time, but the exercise is always worth it in the end.

I was up late last night and would have loved to just lie in bed this morning, but Minttu had different ideas. She was ready to start singing at 6.30 this morning, and felt it necessary to wake everyone else up in the process. The choice is then mine. One choice is to be focus on being tired and annoyed that I can't stay in bed. This way the day will start badly.

Or else I can get up, take pictures of my gorgeous children and feel enormous gratitude that they are all healthy and happy and that today I have the chance to stay at home with them and play.

In court it is always good to have a balanced view of a case. But in life I choose to try and see things in a way which highlights the positive. And it least this morning it has worked. I don't feel tired anymore, but lucky to be here, lucky to have children and lucky to be alive.