In life, it is so easy to get so caught up in the negative things that might be happening, that we forget what a challenge being happy really is. It’s not always easy to be in a good mood, in fact, it’s probably easier to be annoyed or upset all of the time. But is that any way to live? I can’t picture myself constantly being in a negative state of mind.

Having bad days is normal, and so is having a bad month. But just because everything seems to be going wrong doesn’t mean nothing is going right.

The other day, I was wearing clothes I wasn’t super comfortable in, my hair wasn’t looking its best and my glasses were broken and I had run out of contacts. Not to mention, I had to go food shopping before meeting up with a friend of mine. I knew that my being annoyed with everything going on at the moment was my immediate reaction, but instead, I decided to challenge myself to turn things around.

When I was walking through an aisle in the supermarket, a mother and her baby boy were walking around as well and I smiled down at the baby who smiled back. His mother told me, “he only smiles at pretty girls” and as we kept walking I overheard her say “you can’t have her, she probably has a boyfriend.” It was the sweetest and most pure moment, and it made me smile so much because, despite the fact that I did not feel my best at that moment, the kindness of this stranger meant so much to me, I decided to use it as a catalyst to completely change my attitude and focus on what I was grateful for.

So my glasses were broken...okay, but my friend was going to provide me with tape to temporarily fix them. Also, I was so excited to spend time with her and go to the movies! I was also getting ingredients to make a pretty great sandwich when I got home, and I knew that I could always change my clothes and fix my hair once I finished shopping. At that moment, I found solutions to all of my petty problems and started remembering all the good moments I had to look forward to.

As I was circling the fruit aisle looking for grapes, I started thinking about how many exciting things were happening in my life, and things I was grateful for. Turned out, once I started reflecting, I realized I had so many. My mood completely lifted and by the time I left the market, I was back to being my positive self.

Counting your blessings is the easiest and most effective way to stay grounded in life and keep a smile on your face. For everything that’s going wrong, chances are there are two things that are going right.

Sometimes, you just have to look for them.