For the Win!

This blog post (and I really insist you read it because it's amazingly fabulous) has been going viral for the last few weeks, and quite rightly so. It reminds us all that we should stop beating ourselves up about the things we fail at, and instead congratulate ourselves for those little "drops of awesome" we add to our bucket every day. It's uplifting, inspiring and most of all, true. I read it about a month ago and it really has changed my outlook on my life for the better. Thank you so much, Kathryn Thompson. (Why does everything great seem to come from Seattle?)

Then we had the wonderful post from Kasey on Monday about clicking to count our positive thoughts, and how it can really improve our outlook on life. Amen to that, and if I owned a clicker I'd be clicking away. (Seriously, is there anything Hillary Weeks can't do? Is it fair for someone to be that talented at singing, and that pretty and slim, and funny and clever too? She must be from Seattle.)

I've had on my mind, however, something I feel I need to add to all this feel-good stuff. (I've just rebranded my author self: I am now "Your friend for feel-good fiction". So I'm all about the feel-good factor. And the alliteration.)

Three years ago my eldest daughter lost her iPod shuffle. Those things are tiny! A few weeks ago we found it. We were selling our old car, and discovered the little silver iPod tucked into a rusting cranny in the footwell as we cleaned it out.

Naturally the poor neglected thing didn't work. I plugged it in and tried to charge it up, but it wouldn't take a charge and my computer couldn't connect to it. Since eldest child had long ago bought a new one, it wasn't an issue. Pity, though. I'd have quite liked a little iPod shuffle so that I could listen to music as I pottered about doing housework.

About a week later, however, I noticed an orange light on the iPod. Lazy creature that I am, I'd left it plugged into its charger rather than throwing it out. A bit of poking buttons and fiddling, and it sprang to life. My computer managed to discover it, and I loaded it with my music and now use it every day.

Here's my thought: If I had planned to leave it to dry out (or whatever) and by my own clever technological know-how resurrected a dead iPod, then that would be a drop of awesome. That would be me being great and adding to my bucket of awesomeness. But it wasn't anything to do with me. It was something great that just happened.

For the win!

I noticed, right from the next day, that actually many great but little things happen without any input from us. Parking spaces are free, favourite songs come on the radio, or we manage to find the end of the sellotape right away. I'm not talking about the things which we could call blessings–things that we have maybe prayed for, or hoped for, or worked for–just the little, everyday serendipitous occurrences.

I sat down and idly switched on the TV the other day to find a new series of one of my favourite TV shows just starting. I had no idea it was coming back, and could so easily have missed it. For the win!

Although my boss turned down my request for a new laptop computer to use for work, she did give me her old one (and bought herself a new one) and it's almost brand new and in perfect condition and exactly what I would have chosen. For the win! (Meanwhile, my boss is struggling to get to grips with Windows 8.)

A stranger had bought a set of hair elastics in Morrison's last week. It came with a free hairband which she didn't want, so she gave it to my daughter who loves it and has worn it every day since. For the win!

The fact is that not only do we do great things (drops of awesome) every day, but great things happen to us, seemingly completely at random. So while we're adding drops of awesome to our bucket, and clicking for each positive thought, perhaps we should also take a moment to notice the really wonderful things that just come our way.

Every time your size is in stock, or the sun comes out just as you're setting off for a walk, or you bump into an old friend, think, For the Win! And see just how great your life is.