The half-full perspective

I’m optimistically paranoid. I think everyone is out to help me!” I’ve heard that statement a few times. I laugh every time I hear it. I tried to see who said it and could not find an author. Truthfully, it sounds like something the comedian Steve Wright said. Whomever came up with it, I love it and it’s a very appropriate statement to live by. Let me explain.

With all of us in the middle of our season, it’s pretty easy to get frustrated and feel sorry for ourselves. At times, it’s easy to wonder if all this is really worth it.

In the last month, we had a former client (I say former as I fired her) call us morons and swear at us. We had another one tell us that our mulch was too dark, that they like light colored mulch and she mixed in foul language with that comment. We had to let several team members go due to our zero-tolerance policy for missing work and being tardy.

We had a Ford F-450 with 49,000 miles on it blow the whole engine in it and experienced a late frost that roasted a bunch of annuals on jobsites and in our storage yard. However, you know what? Despite all that, I am more excited than ever and I’m having fun. I’m optimistic this will be our best year ever and I’m trying to think like that every day.

How can I be having fun? Am I stretching the truth a little bit? Yes, I am, to be blunt. And here’s my message: In life, I have certainly found that you will most likely end up finding what you are looking for. If you look for the bad in everything, you’ll get it. If you look for the good, it sure seems like you get that too. If you take the mindset that everyone is out to help you, not get you, it changes everything.

When I am able to think through things rationally and really think about what’s good at Grunder Landscaping, the list is endless. Sure, there are some challenges; however, that’s what running a small business all is about. When you see what Washington, D.C. is doing to us small business owners, that alone is enough to consider quitting. However, what would that do? Answer: Not much. So, as you read this column, consider changing your perspective and look for the good in everything. It’s not easy, not at all, and even though I’m trying to think that way, I still struggle. I started doing something simple every morning and it’s helping.

When I get up, the first thing I do is thank the big guy upstairs for all the things I’m grateful for: a healthy family that still seems to want to be around me, my good health, my good fortune to have run successful businesses for over 30 years, my friends, Dayton, Ohio, where I live and work, the United States of America, where we all have a chance for greatness, my customers, and the list goes on. Taking that couple of minutes each morning to remind myself of what I am grateful for and then telling myself “I’m going to have a great day. Be positive and make a difference,” works.

There’s a lot more that goes into being successful than just being grateful and positive; we all know that. However, in times of stress, like the green industry’s summer, nothing beats a great attitude. And everyone, when given the choice, wants to be around, positive, can-do people.

There are two types of people in the world: those who give you energy when you are around them, and those who take it away. What type are you? And how can you make that better? How can your day, week, month, year and life change if you look for the good in everything instead of the bad?

Yes, it’s a struggle to maintain that perspective. I will forever be challenged to think positively. However, there can be no doubt that thinking positively greatly improves our chance for success and if we know that, then there’s only one option, right?