Hello boys and girls. Goms wants to talk about being happy today. Wouldn't it be great if we could just be happy all the time? Just this morning, Gommy went to the store and ran right into a Grump-Bucket. Now, it was very early....about 8 AM so Gommy wondered how this clerk got so grumpy so early in the day. So as not to be 'grumped upon'.....Gommy looked at the clerk and asked her, "How are you today?" You would have thought Gommy had asked her if she would like a slap in the face. Not that Gommy was thinking anything like that..... Her shocked response was a terse, " FINE." Geesh....she didn't act as if everything was fine.
Now, Gommy knows there are morning people and there are people who don't especially love mornings...in fact they act as if it they are IN 'mourning' until sometime in the afternoon. Gommy's advice to the latter group of people is.....STAY HOME AND AWAY FROM OTHER HUMANS UNTIL YOU CAN BE CIVIL. O.K.???? Deal??? If you don't like people...try being a veterinarian's helper, or overnight stock person, or hey....here's an idea....how about a funeral home? Not too many people there who would expect you to be perky or even to smile much.
Upon further examination of why some people are so darned unhappy, Gommy wondered how we could try to establish a sustainable happiness. It seems that once people get in the place where they are certifiable 'Grump-Buckets'...they tend to stay that way. It is probably because not many 'regular' people enjoy being around a grump-puss for very long so they just seem to wallow in the slop-pond of nastiness forever. It would be great if there was this great big Neon Sign that pointed out, "This way to happiness". But, sadly, that isn't how it works. But the good thing is that if we practice being happy.....and ACT like we are happy.....we sometimes find that we become happy by accident. You know....fake it till you make it....OOPS, that is another subject. But faking happiness can work that way too. There was a study that showed if you smile, you have a harder time thinking unhappy thoughts. Now Goms knows we can't be in blissful happiness all the time, but when we notice we are hopping on the 'nasty-train'....we can try to self-correct.
You can begin by smiling at people at your job. You can say good-morning to perfect strangers. Why do they call them perfect......when we don't even know them??? Sorry, Goms went veering off there for a minute. You can look people in the eye and nod towards them in passing. It is all really a matter of civility. It doesn't cost a red cent and it could end up making you or the other person feel a little bit nicer for the rest of the day. Same goes for a compliment. It doesn't take anything away from you to tell someone they look nice or they did a good job and it just may be the nicest thing that anyone has done for that person in a long time. Don't we all like a little recognition or a pat on the back at times? Gommy does :=]
Gommy lived in a time when the people who worked at stores were supposed to be nice to the customers. It was mandatory. Maybe that seems funny.......forced or expected to be nice. What happened to wanting to be nice? And where in the heck did all that niceness go? Were we all just faking it? Well, if we were.....it worked. Just proof of what Gommy said about practicing being happy or nice and eventually you might accidentally find yourself being happy or nice. Remember....your attitude is contagious. Are you sure yours is worth catching? Maybe you should vaccinate yourself against being a grump puss.......with a smile and a shot of the niceness! Try it. It really isn't all that hard. You turn your lips upward instead of frowning and looking mean. Smile, smile, smile, practice....practice....practice. Good job boys and girls. Gommy is proud of you ((^o^))
