Want to Play the Glad Game with Me

A couple of weeks ago, my Sunday afternoon got high jacked when I innocently flipped through the channels and caught the beginning of the movie Pollyanna on the Hallmark Channel.

Source: filmfanatic.org via Megan on Pinterest

Pollyanna is one of a handful of movies that if I see them playing on TV, I must stop whatever I'm doing and watch them. Others include You've Got Mail, The Proposal, Beaches and Baby Boom (don't ask me why the last one, it drove my college roommate CRAZY).

I just can't resist Hayley Mills (don't get me started about Parent Trap) and her sunny disposition in this 1960 Disney movie based on a novel written in 1913.

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest

I couldn't believe it when in a conversation with a couple of coworkers the younger of the group admitted never having watched this classic! I gave her a quick synopsis of the movie, including all about the glad texts and the glad game Pollyanna teaches the entire town of seriously unhappy people. 

The above conversation got me thinking about my attitude and how I rarely look at the positive - or glad - side of a situation. I started wondering why this is and I came up with a few thoughts:

• My job is focused on following the news and all the messages out there about the industry I represent and the messages that I most often have to focus on are the ones that are negative. Oh, to have one day when only GOOD news can be reported and shared about any and everything!
• I tend to think about the obstacles or barriers to getting projects accomplished. Not so much because I am negative, but to have a clear picture of what we are up against and how to overcome them. Sometimes that comes off as being a Negative Nelly. 
• Part of me is just a Negative Nelly. No ifs, ands, or buts. I just tend to complain more than I should. Not sure why, but there I've admitted it. That's the first step to recovery, right?

These revelations have spurred me to embark on my own version of Pollyanna's glad game, where she looked for something to be glad about in everything that came her way.

I am sure that my nickname will NEVER be "PollyMegan" or that I will completely overcome my tendency to complain about things that annoy me. However, I do plan to try and find something - anything - positive in situations that at first seem hopeless to me.

Wish me luck or join me in this attempt at gladness.

We'll either become cheerful people who annoy others or go down on flames while complaining about all the reasons we couldn't stay glad. Either way, it should be interesting!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I just ran across the movie Hoosiers on my TV...yet another movie that I just can't resist. A drunk Dennis Hopper, a cranky Gene Hackman and a court full of boys in short shirts. Heaven for this Indiana girl!

See already found something to be glad about. This is going to be easy...