“Tis easy enough to be pleasant

When life goes by with a song,

But the man worthwhile

Is the man who can smile

When everything goes dead wrong.”

When I read that poem today I immediately thought of two people I know who exemplify the person spoken of in that poem – my sister-in-law Katie and my mother-in-law Loa.

Both of these women are amazing examples of people who smile through life’s storms. No matter the difficulties they face in life they always keep a smile on their face and they say something positive about whatever hard situation they are facing.

While they make staying positive seem like it just comes naturally, I know that’s not the case. I know its not easy for them to stay positive all the time because being positive when things go wrong is never easy…for anyone… It’s a decision – it’s an attitude they choose to adopt and that positive attitude takes effort…tremendous effort…effort to see the good through the bad…effort to focus on what they are grateful for instead of what’s gone wrong.

What I am grateful for is the positive influence these ladies example is in my life. They set such a good example for me and everyone else watching them of how in any situation we can always choose to be the one who can smile. 🙂

~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )