The Pollyanna Perspective

One of my favorite movies is the 1960 Disney classic, Pollyanna. Hayley Mills (who also happens to be one of my favorite actresses) does a fantastic job playing the role of a young girl who looks for the good in everyone and everything around her. Pollyanna's life was not easy -- she was orphaned at a young age when her parents passed away, then adopted by an aunt who wanted essentially nothing to do with her; the story even ends with the young girl being paralyzed after an accident. However, throughout the story, Pollyanna looks for the good in all situations and within all people she comes in contact. Her positive outlook is contagious, and it's amazing to see how people's lives can be transformed by seemingly small changes in perspective.

I recently read the autobiography of Jaycee Dugard, a woman who spent eighteen years in captivity after being kidnapped at age 11 by a known sex offender. I've also recently become familiar with the stories of Dewey Bozilla, a man sent to prison and who served almost 30 years for a crime he did not commit, and Anthony Robles, a young man who won the NCAA wrestling championship despite being born with only one leg. While these three stories are very different, they all have the same clear theme -- staying optimistic is the best (and sometimes the only) way to get through trying situations -- a theme I refer to as the Pollyanna Perspective.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." Life is the same way. If our outlook on the world is one of negativity, we'll definitely find it; reading a newspaper or watching an evening newscast provides instant access to discouragement. Correspondingly though, if our outlook on the world is positive, we're sure to find that as well. It may be a bit more challenging and will probably take a good deal of conscious effort, but the long-term results will be worth it.

I recognize it's certainly not easy to have the Pollyanna Perspective, and some reading this may scoff at the thought of trying to find the positive in every situation. I don't know that I'm even saying we need to find the good in every situation, so much as just stop looking for the bad. The other day I was having a conversation with a friend who mentioned she was feeling happy, but she didn't know why. This caused me to reflect -- in our lives, why must we have a reason for being happy? I myself have asked the same question. On days when I'm feeling great for no apparent reason, I wonder why, which effectively leads me to talk myself out of the happiness if I can't find a reason. But, isn't there always a reason to be happy? Or at least not sad?

It is so much easier to look for the negative in life, but this is exhausting! It takes effort to be discouraged, despite how simple it is to become that way. In looking at life and any situation we may be involved in, I would dare argue that there is ALWAYS a silver lining. There may just be a sliver of silver, but it is always there. Using an example from the movie, Pollyanna explains that when she was young, her family was poor and accepted donations from their church. One year they were offering toys, and Pollyanna desperately wanted a doll. Unfortunately and inadvertently what she received was a pair of crutches. How on earth is there anything positive about a pair of crutches when what you wanted was a doll? Well, Pollyanna explains the silver lining was that she didn't need to use them! It's that simple! A real life example occurred for me just the other day. My first meeting of the day was at an office nearly 30 minutes from my home (which seemed abnormally far as my regular office is less than ten). Sitting in morning rush-hour traffic, I realized I had two choices -- become frustrated at my commute for that day OR be thankful I wasn't required to make that commute every other day. I chose the latter! Keeping a positive perspective doesn't have to mean something extraordinary happens in our lives every day, but it can simply mean that something ordinary does.

In thinking about the most difficult situations in my life, I can immediately see the negative and the heartache I have experienced because of them. From this perspective, it is easy to feel hopeless and become discouraged. However, if I consciously try to find the silver lining, or even the silver sliver, surprisingly it's not that difficult. One of my situations was nearly life threatening; I made it out alive. Another practically bankrupt my emotions and self-worth; it did not take my spirit. I'm not saying I'm glad these situations occurred, but instead that as I squint in the rearview mirror of my life, I can see the silver sliver of my experiences and am more than grateful for the opportunity to be able to do so.

There is so much heartache, tragedy, and just plain evil in the world around us... I don't need to tell anyone that. We already know how difficult it can be. I'm the first to admit life rarely turns out how we'd planned, and I've been through my share of experiences that were less than pleasant at best. But why focus on that? Why not look for the good? Life is hard, emotions are real, and it's probably near impossible for us to be optimistic 100% of the time. But why not 90% of the time? Or 80%? Or even 70%? Indeed every day of our lives will not be spectacular, but we should remember that every day has the potential to be. Perhaps the difference between a marvelous day and one that is less than marvelous is simply our perspective and the way we look at things... :)

~Tiff T.