It is extremely hard not to focus on these negative things. Teaching yourself to focus on the positive and good things in your life will change your mindset. It will help you see things in a new and more positive way. Take every setback as a new challenge for you to overcome. As simple as it sounds, it can be quite difficult. Once you are in a negative mindset, it’s really hard to break free of that way of thinking. Learning to be grateful for all the amazing things you have may take a little time, but a grateful heart will see you through life’s challenges.
After getting through the tough times you may even find yourself grateful for the hardships because of the lessons learned. Remember to find something to be grateful for every single day. However insignificant it may seem at the time, a little gratitude goes a long way. Joey Franklin is the author of essay “Working At Wend’s”. Franklin is a married man with a wife and an 18-month- old son. Franklin took a night shift Job at his local Wendy so that he could stay home with his son during the day. His wife needed to finish her last semester of college.
Franklin initially struggles with this decision. He feels extremely embarrassed, humiliated and disappointed. In the course of his Job he starts to observe other people working around him. He noticed every single other person working with him had their own struggles and hardships. Many of their situations were much worse than his. Realizing this changed the outlook on his life. He no longer had those negative feelings about his life and workplace. He felt overwhelmingly grateful to have an honest Job that paid the bills, and that gave him the ability to take care of his Emily.
Feeling embarrassed is an unavoidable part of life. The biggest feelings of embarrassment can stem from working at a Job you feel you are above. Joey Franklin made his thoughts and feelings toward working at Wendy very clear from the beginning. He showed us this when he described going to Wendy the first time to submit his resume. Franklin wrote, “l take the application to an empty table in the corner of the restaurant and hunch over it, wishing I had a drink, or a hamburger, or something to put on the table beside me”(25). His feelings of complete and utter embarrassment are clear.
Franklin wanted more than anything to have something next to him while he was filling out an application. He didn’t want anyone to see him. I can definitely relate to his feelings here. When I was Just 14 years old, I went into my neighborhood Kroger to look for work. I had filled out an application online the day before. My hands were shaking, and I was sweating profusely. Granted it was summertime but I couldn’t blame this perspiration on the weather. I was terrified and extremely nervous. I really needed this Job. I walked up to an employee and stammered, “May I talk to a manager please? The employee looked around and said, miss, let me find someone for you. ” Time seemed to stand still as I waited nervously, twirling a thread dangling from the right side of my black dress pants. I had tried my best to find a professional outfit that was appropriate for an interview. I thought I looked nice in my white button up shirt and black dress pants; I even wore some Mary Jane, which has not my typical attire. I usually only wore tennis shoes. The manager finally approached me and asked, “Are you Alexandra? ” I answered, miss. ” She then says, “Follow me. My nerves at this point were at an all time high. I felt my heart beating through my chest. I had put a lot of thought into what I wanted to do, and I was really hoping for a cashiering position. That is the only job I felt would be good enough for me. The manager then said, “l can hire you as a grocery bagger. When can you start? ” I felt my heart drop to my Mary Jane. My face turned beet red. I swallowed the spit that had been collecting in my mouth, and managed to muster with fake enthusiasm, “Okay, sounds great! ” I didn’t think there as anything more humiliating than bagging up someone else’s groceries.
To me, this was the very bottom of the totem pole. I didn’t want to tell anyone where I worked. I was afraid they would ask me what position I held.. I know now, years later, that a first Job is Just a stepping-stone. It doesn’t matter what you do; it only matters that you have a paying Job. I realize that I should have been grateful to get the Job in the first place. Especially in that time period, where the economy was very bad, and many people didn’t have work at all. You want people to understand you and where you re coming from. It isn’t a good feeling to be misunderstood.
Be careful not to try to justify yourself based on your own securities or fear of being Judged. Joey Franklin experienced this while working at Wendy. After a man he knew came through the drive-thru asking him about his Job, he goes above and beyond his need to explain himself. Franklin says, “Then I explain the Job is temporary, and it’s the only job in town that allows me to work at night so I can watch my son during the day while my wife finishes school. I tell them in another month I’ll be back in school and irking at a better-paying, less humiliating campus Job”(27).
Franklin doesn’t need to explain all of this to the man in the drive-thru. He shares more than necessary because of his feelings of embarrassment and shame. Franklin wants the man to understand the reasoning behind his decision to work at Wendy so that he can feel understood and accepted. I know why Franklin decided to explain himself to that extent. I have explained my decisions to others many times, Just wanting them to understand and accept me. A couple years ago, I left my Job at Cam’s Club to be a ATA-at-home mom for my daughter.
Many people didn’t understand this decision, and I frequently had to explain why I decided to stay at home. I Just wanted them to understand and respect my decision. My need for explaining my actions stemmed from not wanting to feel Judged by others. Explaining yourself isn’t always a negative thing but sometimes you have to really think about the reasoning behind it. Franklin had an epiphany as a result of his experiences while working at Wendy. He went from not appreciating his situation to being completely grateful for it. Franklin writes, “It is winter, but the house is warm.
My son is asleep in the next room. There is food in the fridge, and I have a Job that pays an honest wage”(30). Joey Franklin is reflecting at the end off long night of work, and he is focusing on all the things he is grateful for in his life. This shows firsthand how much he grew in his experience, and you can tell from his attitude he is much happier because of that. I understand his change in attitude and think it’s amazing. There have been many times in which I only focused on the negative things a certain situation brought up, ND I didn’t even think about the things for which I should be thankful.
When I decided to change my outlook and only look at the things that deserved gratitude, I started seeing everything in a whole new light. I became a much happier person. Showing your gratitude is an important part of living a positive life. When less than desirable circumstances come up, the best thing you can do in response is to Just put one foot in front of the other. You will get through it. The situation is only temporary; consider it a stepping-stone to the next big accomplishment. Your attitude can really hanged everything.
