#5 minute journal cracked

Reveling in the negatives is a hard habit to overcome, but overcoming this bad habit can dramatically increase happiness. We forget how lucky we are to have flights to take and cars to drive. Remember all of those times that someone didn't cut you off on the road? What about all of those times when your flight left on time? We notice the missed deadlines, perceived slights, and unfair treatment, but we easily forget the 99% of the times when things go as planned. The human mind is much better at noticing the negative events over the positive ones. The $250 was worth it just for the cleaning. Aside from repairing the damage, the body shop also detailed my dreadfully filthy car. I paid $250 to repair $1,000 worth of damage. If I had a gracious mindset, I would have been thankful that it only cost a tiny fraction of the actual damage amount to repair. Although a hit-and-run is less than ideal, someone with a gracious mindset might focus on the fact that they have insurance, while the offender may not have been able to afford it or the bump in rates that come along with causing damage. What would have happened if I approached the event with gratitude? It sounds anti-intuitive and a bit insane, but let's take a closer look. My interpretation of this tiny little incident cost a week or two of mental capital and anguish, anguish which turned out to be much worse than the event itself. Instead of getting over the incident and moving on, I agonized over it, surveilled the neighborhood for suspects, and lost sleep worrying about a repeat offense. Aside from the delusion, this negative attitude also made things worse. In the course of my 12 years of driving experience, this was only the second time that my car had been damaged. To begin with, it was based in pure fantasy.

There are a few things wrong with the 'woe is me' attitude into which I eagerly slipped.

#5 minute journal cracked

Someone backed into it with their trailer hitch, cracked the grill all the way down the middle and drove away. I stared at the hole in the front grill of my new car. 'Why do these kind of things always happen to me?'