A Different Perspective

Do you ever groan when you notice gas prices have gone up five cents? Or even twenty? I know I do.
I was filling up one day and commented to the friend with me that I had to keep reminding myself that a few years ago, gas prices were over $3 a gallon, so I really shouldn't complain about them being less than $2 now. She said she had to remind herself of the same thing.
It's so easy, isn't it? To forget that things aren't nearly as bad as we think they are?

Health insurance has been a hot topic for several years, with the prices going up. I won't go into everything, but let's suffice it to say that my husband and I can't afford to pay for "real" health insurance for me. You know, the kind that covers EVERYTHING dictated under the Affordable Care Act. So, I'm on short term insurance for now, until something changes or we decide we have to find several more hundred dollars a month and get it anyway.
Needless to say, the prices on what I have now are better, but the coverage isn't. So, when I go in for my annual check-up, instead of it being completely paid for by my insurance, I owe several hundred dollars. And instead of getting a free flu shot, I pay for it. You get the idea.
So, when I got the bill for my doctor visit the other day, it made me cringe for sure. But then I remembered that if I had the insurance that would have paid for that bill completely, I'd still be paying more over the whole year than I'm spending for the few times I go in for a visit. Which means I'm still getting the better end of the deal.
It's all a matter of perspective. I am working to train my brain to think about the fact that the big picture shows things so much better than the here-and-now sometimes. And some days it takes more reminders than others. But I'm working on it. Because things aren't as bad as we tend to make them out to be.
Do you struggle with that, too? What are some ways you've discovered to maintain a more positive attitude?