In these days of bitter political disputes it’s easy to bend under the load of negativism. So much moaning and groaning exists that good people are abandoning social media. It’s time to stop whining and start living.

Yesterday I pulled my coat on and walked into the darkness hoping to catch a picture of the super moon. No luck. Clouds obscured the goal. I set up my camera equipment praying the astronomical rarity might appear. But the clouds only increased. I stood in the darkness looking at the western horizon and started to whine about my bad luck.

In that moment of disappointment I had an idea. Why not turn around to the East and try to capture the sunrise? I walked to the beach and set up the camera. To my surprise the sky came to life. Within minutes the entire sky burst into flames. I’ve never seen a more spectacular sunrise.

Here’s the lesson. If I had remained in the darkness, focusing on my disappointment, I would have missed the glorious sunrise behind me. I had to stop whining and start living.  There was something better but I could only see it when I made the decision to change my view.

This is one of the most powerful ways to improve your life. And it takes only seconds. Stop whining. Start believing your life can be better. Change your view and change your life.

Several months ago my friend Kellie Frazier advised me to stop focusing on the ow and focus on the wow.  There you go. You will never find better advice anywhere. It sounds a little cheesy but it’s difficult to find more powerful words.

Here’s how to stop whining and start living:

Stop focusing on your broken dreams and focus on new dreams.

Let the failures of the past go. Release them. Get new dreams. Chase those dreams instead of lamenting the broken ones which will never materialize. It takes an act of the will. Turn. Dream. Chase. Let go of the ow and focus on the wow.

Stop focusing on lost opportunities and look for new ones.

Marketing guru Seth Godin, tells the story of how he missed the opportunity to make billions of dollars on the internet. Instead of investing in the internet during those early days he wrote a software program. He missed the opportunity but went on to make millions as a marketing expert. Stop whining about lost opportunities. Discover the new ones all around.

Stop focusing on the hurt but focus on all the good in your life.

This sums it up. Turn away from the junk in your life. Stop comparing yourself to your college classmates who have much more than you. Count your blessings. Be thrilled at what you do have. Allow that joy and happiness to fuel you to make more good life decisions.

This is a huge subject needing more exploration. But for a moment, this is enough to get you going. Get out there. Stop whining. Live your life. Turn away from the ow and embrace the wow.

Refire your life.

PS: The picture used in this post is of the actual sunrise mentioned.