Packin' a stink

Optimism seems to be the twin sister of gratitude

I go to the gym most days and see people stretching and exercising just about every muscle, but the one muscle I don’t ever see exercised is the tongue. Of course, how would I know? But this I do know: whether it’s complaining or criticizing, arguing or gossiping, far too often people allow themselves to “go packin’ a stink,” as my daughter likes to say.

Gratitude journals are all the rage and have been for quite some time. All hype aside, counting blessings, it turns out, is one of the better ways to be both happy and healthy. Research bears this out. One study* found that those who daily enumerated good things rather than hassles were those who suffered less depression and got more exercise and sleep.

Optimism seems to be the twin sister of gratitude. It’s tough to be thankful without also looking on the bright side of life. Take Sister Leola McNair, for example. We meet her only briefly in the preface of the book When Good Things Happen to Good People. Reverend Otis Moss, Jr. tells of ministering to her in a hospital where she was to have one leg amputated. When she found out both legs had to be removed, she began to contemplate all the “remarkable things she could do with [her] hands.” Instead of packin’ a stink, after her surgery she went home to bake, sew, crochet, and knit. Her cheerful giving and good humor blessed and lifted others who couldn’t feel sorry for her because she was “so engaged in bringing help and hope to others.”

I know it’s not easy to always be positive, but doing so can be contagious.

* Emmons, R.A., McCullough, M.E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377