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Joe: “Isn’t it terrible that the M6 motorway is at a standstill yet again! I’ll be late for work. And that sun is in my eyes!”
Jerry: “Isn’t it wonderful that this gives me time to listen to my favourite podcast in the car today. And look how sunny it is – it makes me feel great.”
Joe: “Isn’t it terrible that it’s raining today and it took me an hour to get to work!”
Jerry: “Isn’t it wonderful that we’ve had a glorious summer, with many weeks of sunshine and no rain, and the work commute is usually great!”
Which One’s Your Friend?
Which of those two people would you rather have as your friend?
Jim Rohn famously said…
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
What sort of people do you want to spend time with?
The Joes or the Jerrys?
And perhaps just as importantly, are you the sort of person other people want to spend their time with?
Who Do I Want To Be With?
I’d rather spend time with the likes of Jerry.
With grateful people.
With those who have a good attitude to life.
And I bet you would, too.
But there are other advantages of having an attitude of gratitude…
The Youth and the Traffic Warden
Sometime in my youth, I went to a church youth-camp and the speaker talked about being grateful.
He told us many stories, gave us lots of examples to think about, and it all had quite an impression on me.
All good stuff.
But was it practical?
I’d soon find out.
The Bank Holiday Nightmare
A few months later I was able to put this guy’s ideas to the test.
Our Youth Group went to Bowness on Windermere… on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday.
Can you believe that? Who goes to such a tourist magnet on a Bank Holiday?
Anyway…
The town was packed with people, the car parks were full and overflowing, the streets were full of cars.
In my little Austin Mini 850, I drove my 3 passengers around and around the town, hoping and praying to find a small space somewhere where I could park the tiny car.
Suddenly I found a spot on an isolated country road, well out of town, where there was room for two cars.
So I parked up.
And so did my friend, John, who’d been patiently following me around as I manoeuvred the little Mini around the town and beyond.
“Hey, John,” I said. “There’s a yellow line, and the plate says the restriction starts at Easter – which is this weekend… but look!”
I waved my arm along the section of the road.
“Everyone else is parked here. We’re not blocking anyone. So it must be OK.”
“Yeah! We’ll be fine,” said John, confidently.
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
So off we all trotted to find our friends somewhere amongst the crowds in town.
And what a great day we had.
But sometime during the afternoon we saw a traffic warden issuing a parking ticket, and we felt sorry for the poor person who’d parked in the unauthorised spot.
“There’s another traffic warden,” said John.
“And there’s a policeman issuing a ticket on that car too.”
We looked at each other.
“I think we’d better move our cars,” I said.
But it was too late.
Both John and I found big sticky black and yellow plastic envelopes fixed to our car windscreens.
I tore open the plastic and confirmed my fears.
“Yeah, it’s a parking ticket, John.”
“Have they nothing better to do?” complained John. “We weren’t blocking the road or causing a problem. And the restriction only started 2 days ago. And you know what…”
But I wasn’t listening.
My mind had gone back to what I’d heard a few months previously.
So I decided, there and then, that I wouldn’t complain.
Instead, I found something to be grateful for.
I started to be thankful for the great day we’d had up to now. The day was sunny. We’d had lots of fun. I was out in the Lake District fresh air with friends. I owned a car to get us here…
However… it wasn’t easy.
Walking back into town, John was complaining continuously.
I kept trying to change the subject. Trying to make it more positive. Trying to cheer him up.
But all he did was moan.
The Discovery
When I arrived home that night and got chance to look at the parking ticket, I noticed something interesting.
The date was incorrect.
In his haste to scribble the parking ticket, the traffic warden had shaped the number 20 more like number 26.
So I wrote a letter to the Chief Constable and told him I believed the ticket was invalid – as it displayed a date in the future.
After about a week of waiting (what did we do before emails?) I received a reply which effectively said:
We’ll let you off this time, but don’t do it again.
Was I a happy bunny or what?
But what about John?
He complained about his ticket.
But in the end, he had to pay the fine.
Powerful Attitude of Gratitude?
So did my gratitude make the difference?
Did being grateful wipe the fine?
You’ll have to make up your own mind on that.
But listen…
After this event, I discovered in other circumstances that adopting an attitude of gratitude made a big difference in those too.
So for me, it works.
But what if it hadn’t made a difference to the outcome of the parking ticket, David?
Well… it made a difference to me.
What do you mean?
Life Choices
Because John had chosen to complain, he was miserable for the rest of that day.
But because I had chosen to be grateful, I was happy.
Which of us would you have preferred to hang around with?
Yeah! I thought so.
So an attitude of gratitude has lots of benefits.
- You attract the best people around you
- You’re happier
- And things might well turn out good for you
Try it tomorrow morning when you get stuck in that traffic jam on the M6 motorway.
Instead of…
What a stupid motorway this is…
Try this…
I’m so glad it wasn’t like this when we needed to get to the airport to begin our holiday.
When that dangerous driver in the BMW cuts you up, try…
I’m so glad I’m not married to him/her.
Get into the gratitude habit and you’ll
- Become a happier person
- Arrive calm
- Maintain a healthy blood pressure
- And attract great people into your life
Remember what Jim Rohn said…
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Let’s aim to be one one of those five people.
Be a Jerry.
Let me know what happens.
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