I came across this story that gave me a reminder that I have the option to decide how I see things:
Magne is always in a good mood. He is positive and a natural motivator. If a colleague have a bad day, Magne helps them to see the positive in the situation.
One of his colleagues were curious about how he always managed to be this way, and asked him straight forward.
"Every morning I tell myself that you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can learn from the incident. I choose when to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept complaints, or I can choose to point out the positive aspects of life. I choose the latter. Life is about choices, and you choose how you react to situations."
Unfortunately Magne had a nasty accident at work. He fell 20 m down from a mast, and had a 18 hour surgery resulting in many weeks in hospital and rehabilitation. A friend followed him up, and tried his best to help. One day they talked, he asked about the accident.
"After I regained consciousness, I thought that I had two choices. I could die, or I could try to live on. As I thought about my wife and our little daughter, I chose to live on. The ambulance guys were outstanding, and said all along that this was going to be all right. "
When they rolled me into the emergency room, and I saw the nurses and doctors expressions, I was terrified. Their expressions stated that I almost was sentenced to death, and I understood I had to do something. Suddenly a nurse bent over me and asked if I was allergic to anything?. "Yes" I replied loud and clear, and everyone around me stopped and waited for my answer.
I took a deep breath and shouted that I was allergic to gravity. The answer sparked laughter and made them understand that I choose to live on, and asked them operate me as a living, not a dying. Thanks to the doctors and nurses' skill, the operation was successful.
Magne survived the accident because of his amazing attitude, and everyone around him learned that they must choose how they will live. You always have options.