Being able to step back and look at the bigger picture in a situation can really change your outlook. If something in your life goes wrong, focusing on that event isn’t going to help. It’s beneficial to take a step back and realize that in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that important. When you realize how trivial something is, you’re able to just laugh it off and realize that everything’s going to be fine. Doing this can improve your outlook in a situation and make mending the situation much, much easier.
Life isn’t always fair, and sometimes it seems like the worst things happen at the most inconvenient times. A few days ago I had a huge curveball thrown at me without any sort of warning. Nothing could have prepared me for it. It was just a normal Friday. I was excited that it was finally the weekend even though I had to work that evening. I worked through my shift as normal, hoping that I would be able to get out early. My manager showed up to the store around an hour before I was scheduled out, but she did that all the time for various reasons. But this time she asked me to come back with her. I went with her not really knowing what to expect but I wasn’t really worried. She handed me a piece of paper and asked me to read it, so I did. All it said was that somebody told the manager I stole a cookie, which cost around 40 cents each, and as a result of my ‘actions’ my position was terminated.
In the year I worked there I had seen at least a dozen people walk out after being fired. Most of them were crying or seemed like they were about to cry. However, mostly because of the reason, I just bursted out laughing when I read that. I got fired for a cookie I didn’t steal. It was the funniest thing that had happened to me all week, and I couldn’t help but laugh at it. I didn’t realize that that cookie meant so much to them, and if it was that big of a deal they could have just asked me to pay for it. But in the end I was a little upset because I didn’t want to have to find another job, but I’m altogether a lot happier now that I don’t have to work there anymore. It was honestly a horrible job, and I was looking for a reason to find a new job anyway.
This for many people would have ruined their day and put them in a bad mood. But I tried to not look at it in a bad way and I just laughed it off because in the long run, this isn’t going to affect me too much. It’ll suck for a few days not having a job, but this just means that I’ll be able to find a job where I’ll be happier, and laughing is what gave me this positive outlook.
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