Vigorously rubbing his hands together, Jack asked, “Are you excited?”

Tonya unenthusiastically shrugged. “Meehhhh.”

Surprised, Jack responded, “What’s the problem? This seems like a great opportunity! You were pumped when you saw they were hiring. I thought this was your dream job.”

“I’m going to have to drive farther. I don’t know anyone there, and I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be a lot more work.”

“Yeah, but weren’t you saying you were bored and wanted a new environment and challenge?”

Tonya said, “Yeah, I was. But it’s hard to be excited now, knowing I’m getting cheated.”

“Cheated? What are you talkin’ about? You haven’t even started yet!” Jack inquired.

“I’ve been doing some digging, and I just found out I won’t be making the same amount of money as other people there doing the same work.”

Confused, Jack clarified, “But I thought you were thrilled about the money. Isn’t this a big raise for you?”

“It is a big raise, but it’s not what I deserve compared to the others.”

Jack persisted. “Well, at least you just got married before you started! The honeymoon must have been a blast.”

Flatly, Tonya grumbled, “Everything was too expensive, and I’d rather have gone to the Maldives.”

New job = ☑

New location = ☑

New responsibilities = ☑

Increased salary = ☑

Just married = ☑

Successful honeymoon = ☑

New attitude = ⮽

~~~~~~~~~~

When everything around us seems to be less than desirable, before we check off our “needs improvement” list, the first thing we need to explore is ourselves.

Allowing others to rob us of joy is painful. Robbing ourselves of the potential joy in our lives needs immediate attention.