Don’t be an Eeyore!

We all remember Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Just in case you do not know who I’m referring to, he was the donkey who constantly pointed out all of the bad things that could possibly happen. If there was a negative side to something, he pointed it out.

Back when my husband and I started to hang out he actually nicknamed me Eeyore. It was not a flattering compliment that anyone would want to hear, and I couldn’t stand it when he said it. He was totally right though.

At the time I felt like I had nothing going for me. I was divorced with two small kids. My home wasn’t much. Just a tiny apartment filled with anything extra that people might have had laying around or trash off the side of the street. (My dresser was off the side of the road.) I had no family around to help me out with anything. Due to my low GPA, I had been kicked out of college. Apparently you have to go to class… I was working any job I could get which was mainly part time receptionist job, which I hated. I was on food stamps.

Then there was the depression. It crushed me. I felt completely worthless. Thankfully the lawyers I spoke to recommended counseling to me, and I went for quite a while. Of course, it wasn’t an instant fix and the weekends/nights when I was alone were rough.

Yes, I had a lot to be down about, but I had so much to be happy about too! I had two amazing kids who I absolutely loved and adored. I had friends who helped me through all of the really rough days. My apartment wasn’t much, but we had a place to live. My job was not the job of my dreams, but I had one to help me take care of my kids.

Every time I started to ”be an Eeyore” my now husband would point out the opposite point of view. Sometimes he questioned me on why whatever I was down about was so bad. It finally started to click with me, and I started to catch myself any time I started to go down that road. Now, I didn’t stop immediately because it had become a terrible habit, but I started to slowly start changing my thinking.

Things are not perfect all of the time. There are bad or even terrible things in our lives at times, but that doesn’t mean everything is bad. Try to look for the good and deal with the ”bad” when it rears it’s ugly head. The good news is this: If we didn’t have bad things happen, we wouldn’t appreciate the good! So next time a ”bad” thing happens, be thankful that it is helping you to appreciate the good.

And don’t be an Eeyore!