Last weekend we celebrated my husband’s 30th birthday. We’re not huge gift givers, but for the changing of the decade birthdays we do make an effort. Last year he bought me a bike when I turned 30, and this year we decided to take a nice weekend trip away to a resort village.
This village is well known for it’s hot springs. The hot water is pumped into five luxurious pools of the resort’s main hotel, and essentially you are taking a mineral bath with hundreds of other people at the same time. My husband absolutely loves hot springs, so this is where he chose to go.
We packed a small bag each and hit the road, driving a leisurely two hours away for a weekend of soaking and sexy times (not at the same time). My quip of “What would you do if the pools were closed?” was not met with amusement. We arrive at the hotel and see an enormous line at the check in. This hotel is costing me $500 for a two-night stay, so I was expecting amazing service and perhaps complimentary puppies, not an hour-long wait time for check in. However, it got worse.
The health authority decided to close down all the pools. They had found a link between the pools and two suspected cases of antibiotic resistant bacteria – fair enough, I wouldn’t want to go swimming with those little beasties, but the whole weekend was based around these pools. My poor husband was very put out, but we decided to stay any way and make the best of it. (Side note: lots of people were getting very upset with the hotel staff. Never do this. As someone who has worked in a hotel reception before, I can say that in times of stress I am far more likely to go above and beyond for the people who were nice and respectful, not the ones who were threatening and general knob heads. Us being nice resulted in getting a 50% discount on our room, a free meal, and a free upgrade.)
We changed our attitudes to be positive and find other ways to enjoy ourselves. It worked! By finding the funny side of the situation we were able to relax, enjoy walking around the old-growth forests and the deserted beaches, having the hotel floor nearly to ourselves, and having quality conversations without several screaming children splashing around us. The weekend was a great success when it could have been a flop of epic proportions, and it was all down to how we were able to react to a sudden change.
While always focusing on the positive may not be possible, it is a great strategy to practice so that when something goes wrong (and it will) you won’t have wasted your time and money while at the same time going prematurely grey-haired with anger or stress. I’ve applied this to so many different situations, from moving to a different country to my wedding. It allowed me to relax and enjoy what was in front of me, rather than pining over what could have been.
Change your attitude, and the whole world changes in front of your eyes. It becomes a warmer, kinder, more beautiful place if you let it.
Secondhand Thoughts 