Why talking/blogging about the good stuff is, well, good.

Sometimes, sunshine-y, look-at-the-glass-half-full sort of bloggers get flack from their readers over their incessant cheerfulness.

“Be real!”

“Life isn’t perfect.”

“It’s all a sham.”

“No one could be that happy all the time.”

I haven’t experienced a lot of this, but I’ve seen people shred bloggers like Kelle Hampton (one commenter worried that reading her blog could cause you to “get sucked into the vortex of positivity”. Horrors.) or Amanda Soule over this.

(My blog isn’t as big as theirs, which means I have fewer critics. Either that, or I’m just not as happy as they are. Hmm.).

It’s definitely true that no one’s life is perfect. And it’s true that no one is happy all the time.

But here’s the thing: when we focus on/talk about the happy things in our lives, we often feel happier.

And when we focus on the negative things in our lives, we often feel more negative.

So, to those glass-half-full bloggers, I say carry on!

What does this have to do with frugality?

Well, as I mentioned in my contentment series, looking for the good in your life is one of the keys to being content, and I believe that being content is one of the keys to managing your money well.

If you’re not content with what you’ve got, you’ll always be looking for that one more thing that will make you happy and contented, and often that means you’ll keep wanting to spend money (even though money/stuff rarely brings contentment).

So, go look for the good stuff in your life, and talk about it.

Point out the beautiful clouds when you drive your children to school.

Notice the lovely breeze.

Tell a friend about something nice your spouse did for you.

Take a moment to appreciate your reliable transportation.

Say how grateful you are it didn’t rain for an event.

Take a picture of something adorable your child did.

Pay attention to that feature of your home that you love.

Tell your child’s other parent about the encouraging progress your child made in area x.

Think about how someone has blessed you recently and then tell them that.

If you purpose to do this, and also purpose to give a little less energy to the negative stuff, I think you’ll be surprised at how much happier you feel.

Give it a try…it’ll work better than shopping and won’t cost you a cent. 😉

P.S. Please know that I’m not suggesting we all put up fake facades and pretend we never struggle with anything…just that we’ll probably be happier if we shift the balance in favor of positivity.

P.P.S. Please also know that I think it’s fine to have a rant session with a friend sometimes. That’s a whole lot different than constant complaining. 😉