Attitude of Gratitude

A few weeks back I signed up to work an extra shift yesterday. I thought it might be nice to have a little extra moolah before the holidays. But it's been a long week, and the thought of working yet another 12 hour shift just did not sound appealing at all. Well as it turns out, the hospital has had more than enough staff on hand this week and they have been cancelling extra shifts for nurses. Because of this, I thought for sure I would get a call from the staffing office Friday morning telling me I was cancelled and could go back to sleep. So Thursday night I stayed up WAY later than I should have (to finish the book I've been reading) thinking it would be no big deal because I was going to get cancelled anyway. Well, as you've probably already guessed - they didn't call. So I grumpily got out of bed, got ready, and went to work. As I was driving to work, thinking of all the other things I could be doing (like sleeping), I had an epiphany. I realized that I had absolutely no reason to be grumpy and that I shouldn't be disappointed that I had to go to work. I should in fact be thrilled that during this rough economic time I not only have a job - but a job that needs me more than full time. I gave myself a little lecture, right there in my car driving down the freeway, and seriously adjusted my attitude before starting my shift. And I'm so glad I did because having that "attitude of gratitude" the rest of the day really helped me to have a better day with a positive outlook. Now I'm generally a glass half full kind of gal, but I have realized that I need to have this attitude of gratitude more often. I am so thankful for all that I have and need to be better about acknowledging that every day.