Many many years ago I worked at a Gap store in a mall. Sometimes I can hardly believe it myself! Anyway, I worked with this girl who I will call Suzy because she was so happy like Suzy sunshine. Anyway, she was a genuinely sweet, happy person. She could deal with the crappiest customer EVER, and never lose her sweetness. She would never trash them after they left, which is one of the only perks of working in retail. She was the kind of person who would drop everything for someone and help them out with no judgment. I was friendly with her at work, but at that point in my life I hung out with a darker crowd. At that time, she seemed like a mythical creature to me. It seemed impossible that someone could be so happy and content with their life. She seemed like someone who must have had a "perfect" life. The rest of us peasants had to deal with all the bumps of life, somehow Suzy got to float above it all.
I've thought of Suzy often over the years. She's kind of my happy person idol. I've realized I want to be like Suzy. I've come to realize that positive thinking isn't something we are born with, and oops some of us just got skipped. Positive thinking is a choice. Letting things that don't really matter roll off your shoulders is a choice. It takes work.Negative thinking is the easy, lazy way out.
Suzy left work in the same condition that she came to work in. Happy, satisfied with her day. For most of the rest of us, we left battered and bruised, and in need of a drink and a cigarette. But we had all done the same job, and dealt with the same people. We just chose very different ways of dealing with it.
It's taken me many, many years to really understand it, but I think I'm finally getting it. Happiness is a choice. Choosing to see the positive while dealing with the negative is a choice. It's really hard to break the pattern of "stinking thinking", but I think it's worth it. I want to be like Suzy.
I remember working with a lady named Thelma. She sounds like your Suzy. She was a little crazy but always positive, happy, and optimistic. At the time I was in my upper teens and she was probably in her 40s or so. We worked at a grocery store. The cashiers always had to say something like 'have a nice day' after saying thank you and before the customer left. Instead she would say "Have a HAPPY day". I then decided to try and come up with other adjectives to try out which made everyone giggle but also made the customers think 'gee they really put some thought into that one'. One of my favorites was (while working evenings and/or nights) "Have an ENCHANTED Evening" LOL
ReplyDeleteI like the Enchanted evening! I like it when you have exchanges with cashiers that feel authentic, and like you said some genuine thought was put into the interaction. I think some of the happiest people might have a little crazy in them, which is not a bad thing!
ReplyDelete