Our Viewpoint

That old saying "turn that frown upside down" has been on my mind a lot lately. There are many ways to say it, including seeing the glass half full or half empty.

We make hundreds of choices. We choose to get up every day. We choose to go to work or stay home. We choose what television programs or news to watch.

We choose to be positive and smile, or we choose to be negative and complain about the world around us. I've always been one of those people who believes the best in others and thinks that the world is generally a good place.

Being positive or being negative is infectious. If you smile, people around you will smile. If you are grumpy when you answer the phone, you set the tone for your entire conversation.

I had a conversation with a friend recently and she was negative about every topic. The negativity was overwhelming. As the conversation went on, I found myself feeding off that negative energy and complaining about things in my life. I stopped my friend and reminded her that she made choices about where she lived, where she worked and who she chose to be around. She could then choose to accept it and be happy with her choices, or she could choose to make a change.

If someone is constantly complaining about their situation, remind them they have a choice. I would challenge everyone to choose positivity. Turn the frowns upside down and instead of complaining about everything you think is wrong with the world, highlight the things that make it wonderful.

— Annie Wooden