When did everyone get so negative?

So it's not part of my original top ten in 2011 but because of what I've been through in the past couple months I decided it was time to add another goal into the mix: staying optimistic in the face of adversity.  Being positive is difficult when your life is filled with hardships, mishaps, and the woes of a Wisconsin winter.  I welcome the challenge though because this is the year I stop getting everything my heart desires and learn to love and accept my life as it is.  When you're young, you feel like you should be entitled to only good things and feel slighted every time you experience a setback.  But life is not fair and will never be kind to you because you think you deserve it.  Every single person on the planet faces obstacles, some more harrowing than others.  I think the more obstacles you face, the easier it becomes to be positive because you learn how much you can handle and still come out unscathed.  

So when I look around and see people complaining about the tiniest things and spinning whatever they can into something negative, I just don't get it.  I understand that venting can be healthy and we all need to do that when we have a bad day.  But when you're life is consumed with bitching about all the world's problems, that is a problem.  If you have the time to get on your soapbox and preach about what you feel is unfair, you have the time to do something about it.  I'm not sure why but I think maybe there are people in the world that are truly happier when they have something to be angry about.  If everything was okay, they would probably shut down.  I wish we could all just take a step back and realize that life is too short to find fault in everything.  And at any time, when you least expect it, a real disaster could strike.  We should never take for granted the good things we have in life because they could be taken away at any time.

Now I will get off my soapbox and start practicing what I'm preaching.  It would be very easy for me to spend all day complaining about people who complain but that's the kind of thing I'm trying to avoid.  I can't control others' opinions and actions and at the end of the day, it's best to just live and let live.  I only hope that positivity makes a comeback soon.  Maybe all it will take is an 80 degree day, an outdoor patio and a mojito.