Amy Newmark's Blog - Posts Tagged "gratitude"

Positive thinking is a wonderful tool for dealing with the ups and downs of life. It is a skill that can be deliberately learned, not just a trait that some people have and others don’t.

In our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive, Live Happy our writers share the ways they used positive thinking to overcome both major challenges and everyday issues.

Here are two of my favorite stories from the book that show you ways to use positive thinking to create a better life for yourself!

Turn everyday disasters into joyous moments.
In her story, " A Plague of Joy," Heidi Allen’s husband had to stay late at work so she was shopping and preparing for a dinner party all by herself. She also had to do an errand with her sons, picking up a bag of crickets for their lizards at the pet store. They got home with only 45 minutes to spare before the party, and then disaster struck. Somehow, as the boys were pouring the crickets into a receptacle, they got out. Heidi screamed and scrambled onto a chair. She was so frustrated and angry that she was about to start yelling when, as she says it, “The most amazing thing happened. As I watched my two sweet boys try frantically to capture the crickets, it felt like time slowed down, and I saw the situation clearly for the first time. They were running around like lunatics, screaming with laughter.” Heidi burst into laughter, too, and joined in the chase. And for weeks afterward, whenever Heidi heard a cricket chirping somewhere in the house, all she felt was joy.

Relax and give up control once in a while.
In the story, "The View from the Back Seat," Joan Borton learns that once you’ve been in charge, it’s hard to sit back and let someone else tell you what to do. It happened when Joan Borton’s career ended and she took two part-time jobs instead. Suddenly, she was subordinate to people who were younger than her. She was even relegated to the back seat of the car on a business trip, with two co-workers sitting in the front. Initially, it was hard to give up the leadership position, but Joan says, “I learned that the view from the back seat is beautiful. I am more aware of others and situations around me. I am not anxious to change that any time soon. If someone had told me years ago that I would find joy and fulfillment by stepping back I would have scoffed.” Giving up control at work yielded benefits in other areas, too, as Joan realized she could step back from always being in control in the rest of her life, including her marriage.


Amy Newmark

For the past 14 years I have been editor-in-chief and publisher of Chicken Soup for the Soul. During that time I've had the pleasure of reading tens of thousands of stories from people all over the world.

Of the thousands of stories, some of my favorites are those that focus on happiness — how to find it and how to keep it. Not only did I develop an understanding of what makes people tick... I learned what makes them happy!

So when we decided on our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness, I knew immediately it would be a passion project for me.

I began the book with a chapter on counting your blessings because I think that’s the most important key to happiness. I’m not sure you can truly be happy if you aren’t aware of what’s good in your life—if you’re always focused on what you lack instead of what you have.

Here's a preview of one of my favorite stories from the book about how to count your blessings to make every day a good day:

It’s amazing how powerful the active practice of gratitude can be for focusing us on what’s good in our lives. In Joan Donnelly-Emery's story, "Worst Day Ever," Joan learned this when she was diagnosed with lymphoma the same day her husband lost his job. Her husband had the right attitude, though. He said, “Someday in the future, we’re going to write about today and we’ll call it Worst Day Ever.”

They both went right to work solving their problems. Alan would eventually find a new, even better job, and Joan would successfully navigate her cancer treatment.

As the one-year anniversary of their Worst Day Ever approached, Joan and Alan decided they should commemorate the day – with a fun trip to Las Vegas. They have continued to celebrate March 19th every year since then, with trips to Savannah, Destin, and even Dublin, Ireland on the ten-year anniversary! Joan says, “Each year, we raise a glass and toast that awful day and all the days since, which we survived solely because of a bounty of blessings.”

Joan says the greatest blessing of all is that celebrating the Worst Day Ever has stripped away all the trivial stuff and shone a bright spotlight on all the important things, like faith, family, perseverance, love, and health. She said they don’t take any of those things for granted and they feel blessed to have them in abundance.



Amy Newmark

Christmas is truly a magical time... I love all the holiday decorations around the neighborhood and of course, I love putting up the Christmas tree. The lights, the ornaments, the piney aroma... it truly makes this time of year so special. It's one of the reasons why Chapter 2 from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Christmas, celebrates Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes... and the inspiration behind each of them!

One of my favorite stories from the book is written by Michele Sprague. In the story "Ragged, Forlorn... It's Perfect" Michele tells us that it was months past Christmas, and she still hadn’t taken down her little eighteen-inch Charlie Brown Christmas tree on the mantel. It was sparse, misshapen, and it only had one ornament. Her daughter pointed out that it hadn’t looked good at Christmas, and it still didn’t look good.

But Michele found special meaning in that little tree. She had found it her first Christmas after her divorce, hidden in a corner of the store among some toys. The next year, when she was more back on her feet, that sad little tree was back on the mantel, but a beautiful six-foot Christmas tree stood beside it, nicely decorated with ornaments made by Michele’s daughters.

And her daughter was still telling her the little Charlie Brown tree needed some help—some lights, more decorations… Nevertheless, both trees went up every year.

Ten years later, Michele remarried and continued the tradition of putting up both trees. Her new husband, Larry, suggested they leave the Charlie Brown tree up all year, complete with its one ornament. “It’s simple and reminds us of what’s important,” he said. “Life doesn’t have to be filled with glitz and glamour for us to be happy. This simple, little Charlie Brown tree reminds us to enjoy the little things, which are often beautiful.”

Happy Holidays!
Amy Newmark