409. We Gotta Make the Best of It

November 20, 2024•Ep. 409•4 min 11 sec

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A listener shares the story of how one of her favorite mantras came to be.

About It's Going to Be OK

If you have anxiety, depression or any sense of the world around you, you know that not *everything* is going to be okay. In fact, many things aren’t okay and never will be!

But instead of falling into the pit of despair, we’re bringing you a little OK for your day. Every weekday, we’ll bring you one okay thing to help you start, end or endure your day with the opposite of a doom scroll.

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Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

Listener: Hey Nora, I’m calling in to tell you about an okay thing. So I have been described as an optimist. This is most often said in the context of my very optimistic time management skills. Not poor, just optimistic. More than once I’ve been heard saying things like, okay 20 minutes, do you think I have time to go on a three mile run and shower?

I just like to do a lot. But I don’t always feel optimistic. Recently, I was going through a rough patch at work, just working really hard on something that didn’t feel worth all my time and effort, and I felt frustrated and hopeless and pessimistic. So I took a much needed Friday off to go camping in a nearby state park.

Classic optimistic time management. I left after work on later than planned, arrived after dark, I had to ask strangers how to get to my campsite, and I set up my tent in the dark. But in the morning, I woke up feeling refreshed, and after a little hike, I went into the campground restroom, and in the largest stall, there was a mom and a little girl around three years old.

And as I waited in line, I heard the mom talking to her daughter in this sing song voice. Okay, now I’m going to wipe off your leg, because at this point I’m not sure if that’s poop or dirt. We gotta make the best of it. Oh, the toilet isn’t flushing, that’s unfortunate. We gotta make the best of it. Another woman asked if she could help, but this mom said she was okay.

Because she was okay. I smiled to myself as I waited in line. So many things about this story make me feel like it’s going to be okay. Camping alone on a Thursday night, strangers offering to help each other out, but most of all this mother who was doing her best, forgetting the rest, teaching and modeling to her daughter and a new generation of girls that you can find a way to be okay.

And make the best of life without letting minor setbacks get in your way. It just spoke to my little optimistic heart. Afterwards, I called my sister, who has little kids, to tell her about it and we laughed and laughed. Now, whenever something is hilariously bad, we still sing that song to each other. We gotta make the best of it.

What an optimistic and empowering thing to say to yourself to make it through tough times and unnecessary setbacks. Whether it’s poop, dirt, work stress, or something in between, I still need that mom’s reminder all the time. And singing, we gotta make the best of it, still makes me feel like it’s going to be okay.