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Encouraging Heroes. You can be one too.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Allstate for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

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One thing I’ve noticed with the younger boys in particular is how frequently they react to situations with…well, not with optimism.  It’s fair to say they’re reacting in fear a lot of the time.  It’s not necessarily fright that they’re feeling.  More like…fear of the unknown, or fear of failure.

For example, I suggest that we’re going to go do something.  Just last week, I mentioned that we were signed up to go tie dye some shirts for our homeschooling group.  Wow, did they ever complain!  I was told flat out that this was no fun, they weren’t going to do it, and they didn’t like to tie dye, and so on.  When I pointed out that objections were being made WHILE they were wearing shirts we’d tie dyed last year, some of the complaints died down.

Heh. 

ANYways.  I insisted that we go, and we went.  They of course had a great time talking to friends, and really enjoyed the dying process.  When we got the shirts rinsed and washed the next day, they were so excited and proud to wear them.

I pointed out that they’d wasted a lot of energy being anxious about it, and perhaps they should trust Mama a little more in life.

If they would choose to consider events with an optimistic mindset, life around here would be happier.

I’m just sayin’.

They HAVE gotten much better about soccer.  It used to be that there were actual tears on soccer days.  Not because they disliked playing.  Oh, no.  The only reason for the objections was that they didn’t want to leave the house.

This resulted in a lot of misery for all concerned.

Now, they are positive about going to soccer (this has just developed this season), and seem to be having an even more wonderful time than ever.

Go figure.

That’s the point I keep making to them.  Attitude counts.  If you go into something feeling optimistic, you’ll have a better experience.  Sure, there are risks.  You might make a mistake on your math problem.  You might get dye on your hands.  Or you might miss the soccer ball when you try to kick it.  In the grand scheme of things, though, life is good.  It’s okay to be happy and positive about whatever task is before you.

Being positive, even in the face of risk, makes life good. 

I was inspired to write about this because, interestingly, the new Allstate Good Life theme at Allstate insurance company.  It’s really pretty novel for an insurance company (of all things) to be focusing on the Good instead of the Crisis.  I like it though.  Being optimistic about life has its own intrinsic rewards, and that leads to gratefulness, a critical ingredient in any happy existence. 

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It’s also true that just sharing these stories can be encouraging for both you and anyone reading.  So!  What kind of good life moments have YOU had lately?  I’d love for you to leave a comment and tell your story.  J

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