Changes in latitude, changes in attitude

Ok my latitude hasn't changed, but I feel a change in the force. Sometimes you just need to take a step back, reevaluate things, and gain some perspective.

I've been struggling financially for the last month or so. Some of it is my own doing... some of it is not. NY is an expensive city and if you're impulsive it can be your downfall. Now with the holidays looming and travel plans, I've gone into full-blown panic mode.

My original plan to go home for Christmas was to rent a car. That way I could take my time driving up and back, as well as have the freedom to go around in the days I'm home to see people. Unfortunately, that became not so feasible anymore. The rental car was going to cost way more than I could actually afford so yesterday morning I had a bit of a breakdown. It hit me that I maybe wouldn't be able to go home for Christmas. I spent Thanksgiving in NY alone. I didn't want to have a repeat of that. I've already had to cancel some non-essential (and some essential) things from my life in order to save a bit of money this month, but it still wasn't cutting it.

However, instead of letting it really bring me all the way down, I took a step back. How can I solve this rationally? Well, let's price out other travel options and go from there. Turns out I can get home on the train (even at the holidays) for a fraction of what the rental car was going to cost me. Even better, it's going to cost about the same as the deposit I gave for the rental. BOOM... problem solved. Cancel the rental car and reserve the train. Will this be exactly as I had planned? No, not anymore, but at least I still get to go home and see my family which is all that really matters.

Once I was able to turn this around, good things started happening and I was in an overall good mood the rest of the day. It actually ended up being a pretty damn good day in the long run. One small change really can make a difference. Sometimes we just have to take a step back, breathe, and see what other options there are.

What other paths can we take to improve our attitudes towards things?

-Danielle