happy exhausted

It is so easy to become consumed by the negative events and hard things that arise in our lives. I was struck with the fact that so often I am more willing to turn to the negative because it is "easier" to be negative than it is to change my point of view. I began tutoring this week. That means I have to wake up a half hour earlier because I tutor before school and I am tutoring for 2 hours after school. I worked a 12 hour workday yesterday. I was exhausted and needed to blow off some steam, so I went to the gym to just escape from school, to escape from work. If I had stayed at school, I would have ended up doing more work, so I grabbed a bus and made my way to the gym. As I was riding the bus, I thought about my long day. I thought about how I had 36 or so more weeks of these long days. It would have been so easy for me to get frustrated and negative about this work and long days. Instead, I changed my point of view and started thinking about the relationships I could build with the students if I tutored them after school, the extra money I would be making to pay for my eye surgery I am getting this year, and the push to be diligent in getting my work done during the day. There is much to be positive about. I truly have a love for these students, this school, and this administration that I did not have last year. Regardless of the extra work, the long hours, and the tired days I LOVE my job, I LOVE my students, and I LOVE being in Thailand. I have a joy that goes beyond my circumstances. I'm telling you this to help hold me accountable. If I complain in the future, please bring my attention back to this blog, to this mindset that I had. I can already foresee that in the future I will be needing a reminder.