Pollyanna’s Glad Game
Here’s a book that will give you a good 15-20 hours of inspiration for seeing the bright side of life, the glass half full, the silver lining to the dark cloud. Pollyanna is a children’s book that details how one little girl manages to turn around the lives of her fellow town residents with one simple tool—the Glad Game. Alone in the world, Pollyanna is taken in by her dutiful and cold aunt. Not one for self-pity or negativity of any kind, the young girl meets a host of challenges in this new town with relentless optimism.
It is not a quality that Pollyanna was born with. She learned it from her father. One Christmas when she was hoping for a doll but receives a pair of crutches instead, her father manages to make her truly see them as a gift. Can you guess how? He reminds her how glad they can be that neither of them actually needs crutches. That’s how the Glad Game is born. And how right he is. Pollyanna already has a gift more precious than anything that could be unwrapped on Christmas morning—the ability to walk unaided. She doesn’t have to lose it to see its value if she simply adjusts her perspective.
By the time she arrives at her Aunt Polly’s house then, she is a pro at feeling and expressing gratitude. So when her aunt punishes her by sending her to the kitchen for a plain dinner with the servant Nancy, Pollyanna is delighted. She thanks her aunt for the chance to share Nancy’s company and for the bread and milk she enjoys. This may have been frustrating to the aunt, but for Pollyanna this point of view is a kind of superpower. When even punishment is viewed with pleasure, there is nothing lacking in any moment.
The Glad Game is Pollyanna’s way to remember to practice gratitude, one of the most powerful frequencies, in every situation. And the Law of Attraction responds in kind to her. Though she suffers her share of hardships—most of which she does not even see in that light—ultimately her life is enriched by the outpouring of love and generosity from the community. Her friends have learned to appreciate the game she taught them by example.
Pollyanna does eventually need the crutches her father had once upon a time encouraged her to be glad not to need. But she even learns to be glad about that. If you want to find out how she makes lemonade out of those particular lemons, you’ll just have to read the book! In the meantime, give the Glad Game a whirl. Practice gratitude in the playful manner Pollyanna did. You might not be able to imagine ever feeling grateful for something like that, but allow yourself to be surprised by the opportunities for gratitude that abound. Let Pollyanna work her magic on you like she did in so many other lives.