"When you have a bad day,...

a really bad day, treat the world better than it treated you."

- Patrick Stump

   I've come to realize that bad things happen in life. That bad days happen in life. That things won't always go my way. I've had to learn what the popular phrase "turn that frown upside down" actually meant. One cannot physically rotate their mouth into a smile. So what does this mean?

   For me it means that I must first change my heart. If I do not first step back and change my perspective of my current situation, I will get nothing accomplished that day. I must first change my heart to a willing heart. To a heart that understands every aspect. 

   From there I must change my attitude. I have to take all that negative energy coming from the world and channel it into something totally different, something positive. Smiling and being grumpy don't really go together. Try it now. Try and say "bubbles" in an angry voice. It is extremely difficult if not impossible. Same goes for life. You can say you're one way and continue living life in a dreary manor. You might be able to, for a little while, and then slowly but surely your smile turns back into a frown. This is where the attitude comes into play. An attitude is a decision. Once you make the decision to be happy and not just saying you're happy you are allowing that "willing heart" to take over. 

  Finally I act positively. I take my focus off of myself and project it onto some one else. For instance; I would compliment a stranger or start a friendly conversation with a friend. Anything that was working to make someone else's day a little better. And eventually my smile is back, and most importantly it's real. 

   I know this seems like a lot of work just to turn your frown upside down, in the end I've found that its either this chain of events or letting the world get me down. Which do you chose?