Chris Grows the F#%! Up: Thank you. More, please.

I try my best to be an optimistic person. I want to be the type of person that sees the glass half full. The type of person who is always pleasant and never has an unkind word to say. I want to leave people asking, "What the f#%! is wrong with that guy?!" after I dazzle them with my nearly unbearable positivity.

Unfortunately, I live my life teetering on the edge of a snarky outburst. I'm really good at keeping the string of profanity (real awful stuff) in my head and not spewing them at whoever has crossed me, but my facial expressions are another story entirely. I find it nearly impossible to censor the distaste in my face (good thing I work in customer service, huh?). My eyes roll as if I have no control over them, and my eyebrows are in a perpetual state of being raised in surprise at the stupidity that I'm encountering. It's gotten me in trouble...

An actual conversation I had with my boss:

"Chris, I just got a call from a customer who said that you...made a face at him? Do you remember making a face at a customer?"
"Well I don't remember it, but it sounds pretty plausible."
"Hmm...here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna get a mirror, put it up behind the door here, and you're going to practice your 'customer service face' before you talk to our customers."

I've grown too accustomed to letting the negatives dictate my outlook and ignoring all of the wonderful things in my life. It's not the type of person I want to be when I grow up.

There is a scene in the movie Happythankyoumoreplease (written, directed, and starring Josh Radnor from How I Met Your Mother) that really spoke to me. One of the characters is talking about being told, "Bliss is your birthright. You have great potential in this lifetime, the key to your life is gratitude. You do not give enough thanks." She is told to say, "Thank you." and after saying thank you say, "More please," because with gratitude the universe is abundant.

I loved this idea so much that I've been working to do it more in my own life. Why focus on the bad things in life when there are so many wonderful things? Recognizing these good things can only improve our attitudes and invite more positivity into our lives. I mean, it's not always easy. There are some idiots in this world that seem to exist solely to piss me off, but why should I focus on their idiocy when something really great is likely coming right around the bend?

This week I've been keeping track of the things I've been thankful for, and I wanted to share some of them with you (and I also wanted an excuse to play with Instagram filters).