See the positive, not the negative — it might just make your day

I just got back from the gym. It’s raining outside.

I had a bad day. Three years into the startup journey, I’m working in more operational stuff than ever. I’m supposed to do strategic stuff and all that, as the co-founder, but I spent my train ride assembling fucking name tags and reviewing CVs. Monkey work, as I like to call it.

Said train was also only half the size it was supposed to be, everyone was standing, and in a bad mood. My suitcase was in a different wagon, retrieving it harder than to get to the front row for a Backstreet Boys concert. Arriving in Frankfurt, turns out all bus drivers are on strike. Which means: trams are packed (no space for suitcases), and late. So I walked. In the rain.

God damnit, I thought. Why the hell am I doing this?

I just got back from the gym. It’s raining outside.

I had a great day. Started the day in Munich, and learned a lot about the work of radiology assistants: how radiotherapy and nuclear medicine works, what the difference between a CT and a PET-CT is, why certain radioactive material gathers in tumors and how you properly scan a brain. Then, I said goodbye to the 15 candidates from Italy, who applied for our program (we bring unemployed medical professionals from Southern Europe to Germany and teach them German). Awesome group.

I then managed to catch the train, had a seat on the train, got some work done that needed to be done and came home before hitting the gym.

And not just any gym. A gym where even at 19:30, the squat rack is available, where it’s not crowded, because it’s the private gym of our Lacrosse club. My workout isn’t just any workout, but has been programmed for me by my strength coach.

Coming back to my 80 sqm apartment, I called my mom, cooked dinner, and am now writing these lines looking at the Frankfurt skyline.

God damnit, I thought. How fucking cool is that?

What I just told you was the story of my day. Twice. With very different perspectives.

We get so caught up in our every day busy-ness that we forget how amazing life can be. We take the positive sides of life for granted, and only see the negative ones.

Essentially, I was pissed, because I’m not doing the work I believe I’m supposed to do, and haven’t been in a while; and because of, well, Deutsche Bahn. Those are some real first world problems. But even for the first world standards, my day was exceptionally good. Yet, I didn’t even realize it.

Whether you live a good or bad life does not depend on your situation. It depends on your attitude.

Today, I was approaching life with a bad attitude. Tomorrow, I will try to do better, and see life for what it is — an amazing opportunity to do things you love, and to change the world.

On the very day of Thanksgiving, I forgot to be thankful. I am now. Thankful to be here, thankful to be alive, and thankful for all the opportunities and people I have in my life.

We’re living in a great world. We just need to appreciate it for what it is.

What should you appreciate more?

Something else I would be very thankful for: you subscribing to my newsletter. You might be thankful for it next year, too. ❤