If you know me at all, you’ll realize I’m just about the clumsiest person you’ve ever met. I walk into walls; I trip over my own two feet, and I even fall out of bed. When I was young, I was taught to stand back up when I fell, and it is that mindset which has enabled me to look at life through a much more optimistic lens.

I’m the kind of person who tries my best to look on the bright side of any situation, even when the reality is a sky filled with grey looming clouds fit to burst with cold, icy rain. My friends and family view me as a rather optimistic individual who strives to think positively and encourage others to do so as well.

One question I get a lot is, “How do you do manage to stay happy all the time?”

I normally respond that I’ve always been cheerful and try my best to disregard the bad and look for the good.

What a lot of people tend to forget, however, is that even though I may always have a smile on my face, that it does not mean I am always happy.

I have bad days just like everybody else. I actually have terrible days and sometimes don’t know what to do with myself. I have days where I don’t want to get out of bed because I am so afraid of the monsters that lurk not underneath my bed, but within the chambers of my own mind.

I used to let my demons overpower me, crush my dreams, destroy my passions and control my thoughts. I realized, however, that I have the power within me, as do you, to turn what could very well be a thunderstorm of a day, into something a little sunnier.

It is virtually impossible to have good, great or even wonderful days all the time. What I pride myself on, however, is that I’ve learned how to find good within every day. You don’t need everything to work out one hundred percent of the time. Really, you don’t. You don’t even need things to go your way 50% of the time. As long as you are willing to set aside your feelings of failure, the looming dread of imperfections and flaws, and thoughts of things that may not work out, you will be a much happier individual.

Every day you have the opportunity to make it a great day. Is everything that happens the minute you wake up going to be magical? Of course not. Life is all about perspective and in my opinion, if you tell yourself “today is going to be wonderful” or “ugh. . . today is going to suck,” you will project those feelings onto others and will force yourself to look at situations in a more positive or negative light in return.

Find the good. Trust me, there are so many wonderful things to be thankful for each and every day and if you just take a second to put down your phone and look around you, the obvious and more secluded wonders of the world will jump right out at you.

Good things come to those who wait, but remarkable things also come towards those who search for greatness. I assure you that regardless of the day or night you are currently having, that there is something that you can smile about.

I think we spend too much time waiting for greatness to waltz our way when it is right in front of us to begin with as well as within each living thing that graces our world.

If you search for greatness, look for beauty within the mundane and make like a camera and develop negatives into positives, there will be so much more happiness and wonder in store for you.

You do not need to be a sunshine sally and radiate positivity wherever you go. What I am proposing, however, is that you do what you can to find greatness within yourself and share those magnificent gifts with those around you.

You never know who you’ll inspire simply by being yourself.

So, I sit here and write about what it means to look on the bright side, and can’t help but smiling.

Am I over the moon ecstatic? No. I’m actually pretty darn exhausted. It’s been a pretty long week. But you know what?

It’s another week I, as well as you, made it through.

We did it.

We are here . . . together.

Another week of triumphs or tears, miracles or misery, accomplished, finished and conquered.

You and I have something so powerful within our core. If we just take a minute when we wake up each morning to embrace what makes us who we are and that we each have the ability to make the most of a crummy situation or a wonderful occasion, we will live in a world where there are more smiles and overall feelings of joy.

We have the power. It has been within us all-along. Now, let us utilize the gifts we have been graced with and use them for good and for growth, for laughter and for love.

You have the ability to create beauty each and every day. And you know what? If today isn't working out for you, there's another beautiful day in store for you tomorrow and another one after that.

Love and hugs,

Irina