The other day at work I asked a co-worker how his day was going as we passed each other in the hallway. I’m certain when he grumbled about how frustrating his day was he was not prepared for the philosophical response he was going to get from me.

You see, I’m a firm believer that all things are relative. You can adjust your attitude by simply adjusting your perspective on the here and now. Sure, you could say that your day is going roughly, but compared to what? Compared to someone who has just lost his job and fears he may not be able to feed his family? At least you have a job, right?

But that’s a little extreme, right Stevie boy? Yes, I agree. You could ALWAYS invent a situation worse than the one you are experiencing. “Ouch, I stubbed my toe!” “Hey. Be thankful you didn’t get it frozen on a food-less trek across the Arctic and have your feet frozen and get gangrene in them and have them amputated from the knee down. You’d be wishing for a stubbed toe then, fella!”

That’s not how I approach it though. I dig into my personal experience, or the life of someone close to me. I once worked at McDonald’s. I was a manager there for almost five years before I got smart and went back to school. I’m not knocking the work; I learned a lot about work ethic, dealing with people, customer service etc. But it is a pretty shitty place to try to make a living. You work like a dog for every penny you earn. Besides my experience at McDonald’s, my last job had me working 70 to 90 hours a week for almost 18 months straight. I stressed out beyond my limits and saw no rewards for my labours. Only criticism, promises of more pay or bonuses that never came, and missed out on a lot of family time.

So, when I compare my job today with my jobs then, things aren’t so bad. I work basically, 9ish to 5ish. The environment is clean, there is free coffee, and it doesn’t smell like a deep-fryer. The pay is a little bit better than it was when I worked at Rotten Ronnie’s. The hours are much better than my prior office job. I have my health and so does my immediate family. Things are good for me. Sometimes the work is hard, but not as bad as it was.

You see, I didn’t need to reach into the bowels of my imagination to imagine a fate worse than death to find that relativity that re-positions my perspective. I simply look to another point in time of my own life. I remember when things were worse than they are today, or I put myself in the position of a person close to me who has it worse than I have it.

Things don’t look so bad. They could be better, but they certainly could be worse.

Have a great day folks. Be thankful for what you have.