This past week I was really happy because my brother came home to visit for a week and a half. The Saturday before he left, my Dad decided that he wanted all of us to go to the beach to see the sunrise. Let’s go back to 6:20 a.m. Saturday morning; everyone is ready to go to the beach except for my brother. He complains how it’s too early and he wants to stay home. Eventually, he reluctantly gave in and got in the car with us. We get to the beach and he lays down on his towel, immediately taking out his phone. My parents and I are talking about how pretty it is and making conversation, yet my brother could not get off his phone. We all get annoyed. We had this whole idea to do a family activity and he could not just be present for twenty minutes. Nothing could get him off his phone for that short period of time.

    My Dad then made a good point. He explained it was important to look at this situation as a win. Yes, he may be on his phone the entire time but at least he came with us, rather than staying home. 

    Recently, I have learned to take advantage of small victories. Life is too short to dwell on the past. No situation is going to be perfect, so it is important to find the good in a not-so-ideal situation. I’ve connected this ideology to my brother. I’m never going to get that ultimate moment to spend time with him. It won’t happen and I don’t expect it to. Instead, I can just utilize the times I do spend with him and make the most of those moments, taking it as a small victory. 

    To reflect positively, my family and I have started a daily conversation during dinner. We take turns talking about our high of the day, low of the day (but you don’t have to have one), and TMOJ, or tiny moment of joy. This allows us to find happiness and our own small victories during our day, rather than focusing on the negative.