Over the past week I decided to read the third book in the Pollyanna series. Most of us know of Pollyanna and we kind of make fun of her for always seeing something cheerful in the gloom when there really isn’t anything to be grateful for. In reading it, I think she always made sense, and that being called a Pollyanna should always be a good thing.

But she also had another gift which was she always assumed the best about everyone, even when they weren’t behaving in a great way, she came up with a reason that could make their behavior seem good (for the most part). And when she would tell them, they often wanted to be a better person because of it.

So my question for you is what behaviors by others are you interpreting in a negative way that you could interpret in a positive way? What are the hidden benefits of those behaviors?

This is a small one but has been irking me lately. My new neighbors across the street often park directly in front of my house where I want to park (there is no parking shortage, so it’s easy to park in front of one’s own house). The rest of us in the neighborhood will go another block so that we are driving in the right direction to park in front of our own homes, but they don’t seem care. And they block my paved path from the street so that I have to walk through the grass.

This REALLY annoys me (yes I know it’s petty). So I’m going to Pollyanna it and think maybe they are trying to help our neighborhood be less territorial, mixing it up. Maybe my life would be somehow better if I parked in front of their house instead of going out of my way to park on my side. Maybe I’m too obsessed with efficiency and I could benefit from loosening up a little about rules. It only puts me 20-50 feet from where I want to be, so if I stop making it about – how dare they not be considerate as the rest of us are, this isn’t a good sign for the future! – to okay, maybe there are some other cool places to park, then maybe I can lighten up in other areas of my life. Thank you neighbors! 😉

What can you Pollyanna and get a fresh perspective on?