January 3 - Financial Wellness Month

I couldn't find any official proclaimation naming January as Financial Wellness Month. Just like the first week of January is Resolutions Week simply because everyone is talking about and trying to keep their resolutions, I suppose this month is Financial Wellness Month simply because most people are using the clean slate of a new year trying to achieve that goal.

For many reasons, we, like a large number of other Americans, are having trouble in the financial department. Some of the reasons were unavoidable, others were not. We have been blessed to be surrounded by people who care about and look out for us - family, friends, bosses, and total strangers. With their help, we managed to make it through last year and even feel optimistic about the new one.

Our complete financial wellness will not occur by the end of January. It will likely not happen by the end of the year. But maybe we can change a few habits this month that might make even a small difference in improving our situation.

March 14 - Optimism Month

March is Optimism Month

Those who know me will tell you I'm no Pollyanna or Miss Mary Sunshine.

I think I've always fallen in the middle of the Optimism/Pessimism Scale. I feel that I do tend slightly to optimism and faith in the basic goodness of others. (Stop laughing. I said slightly.) While I tend to be a "glass is half-full" kind of gal, I do need help seeing the silver lining when things go sour. (How many mixed metaphors can I fit in to one sentence?) Prior to composing this post, I took a few (very un-scientific) personality tests, and the results seemed to bear this theory out.

My optimism can come and go, depending on who I'm with and how optimistic they are. My boyfriend can help me see the brighter side when things don't go my way. (Far more often than I would like.) Even though I love my job, I often fall into the rut of longing for Friday to come. Sometimes I feel like I am just wishing away my life by hoping Friday will come faster. When I’m with friends at work who are being negative about the work day (This day is too long! When will it be Friday? When do we get a day off?) I tend to fall in with them and it makes my day longer/worse than I was really experiencing. Lately, especially since planning this post, I've been trying to help them be more positive.

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Fake it till ya make it.

I have a friend who says that all the time. While it may not hold true (or advisable) for all situations, it does work for optimism. Often, I have to make myself see things positively, make myself smile, and make myself have a good attitude. And, more often than not, I end up actually feeling better.

Now, just because I am feeling particularly dorky, here are some optimism quotes I've handpicked for you.

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

-Winston Churchill

"Between the optimist and the pessimist, the difference is droll. The optimist sees the doughnut; the pessimist the hole!"

-Oscar Wilde

"An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be."

"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right."

"In the long run, the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip."
-Daniel L. Reardon