The Incredible ROI of Looking for the Best Side

Monday I had a great opportunity to exercise my calm-in-the-storm frame of mind, literally.

The day started when the bus driver shut the door almost in my daughter's face....we're not sure why, but apparently he was unable or unwilling to wait for her to get to the door to let her in. Therefore I got to take her to school. I got to my work just in time for class, with not a moment to breathe, much less stop by my office. All was fine; my first two classes were great.

Between class two and three, I have to hike about four blocks in under 10 minutes. It was not raining; it was pouring torrentially. I taught my third class dripping wet. All was well.

Now it's lunch time and I can't wait to get to my office and sit down! When I get to my office, I realize my office keys are not where they're supposed to be....they are in the first classroom I taught in, 3 blocks away. Fortunately, they were in the exact place I had left them early in the morning.

So, I have 25 minutes for lunch instead of an hour. No problem.

I was so happy to get to my fourth class. We had a great time. I enjoyed the 1-mile walk to my car and hopped in to get on my way to Whole Foods, a fun place for me to buy "special" groceries.

I notice the car is making a really weird noise.

I have a totally flat tire.

No worries, I have a service (with USAA) so they send someone out to repair it. I wish it didn't take an hour for the guy to get there, but I'm glad to be in the shade and happy to SIT DOWN (all teachers know what I mean!)

Miracle of miracles, I make it home just before my daughters do. And all was well.

All of us have days like these. Maybe you're the sort of person who lets everything like this roll off your back like water on a duck.: no bad mood, no grumpiness.

It's taken me a while to develop the habit of not letting bad things get worse by thinking how unfair it all was. I just got through the day, one obstacle at a time. By maintaining serenity, you have more resources at hand to deal with everything and you don't waste time, the new money.

Yesterday I took some time to goof off.