FTP 3 - False problems

     Short post, due to internet issues and interruptions, but here's something to think about. The next time your day/ week/ month is going badly, and the adage "when it rains, it pours" comes to mind, stop and consider whether it's truly as bad as you think, or if you're just overlooking the good things that are happening.

     For example, this week saw my modem (ostensibly) die, another 3" of snow, cold and windy weather, hugely annoying lit classes, a $90 replacement modem that I can't really afford (and ended up doing the same thing my 'old' modem was doing), a notice that my tags had expired and that my car would be towed if I didn't replace them in 4 days, and the realization that my taxes are only giving back half as much as usual this year. Rather than dig in and be depressed about it all, however, I stepped back and saw this:

• Since the  problem was with the lines, not my modem, I can return the modem and get a full refund. 
• Since we review all the terrible stories in lit class, I don't have to read them myself.
• I found a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula in a thrift store for $1.00, and remembered I'd never read it before. It's a fantastic book.
• I have sufficient warm clothing, a solid car, and a decent place to live to keep me out of the cold.
• My trip to the DMV to get new tags took 5 minutes (a new record) and cost $2.37. And I got a warning instead of them immediately towing my car. 
• The tax situation stinks, but at least I'm still getting some money back.

So... Is it really as bad of a week/ day/ month as you think? What good things have happened to you that you've overlooked?