It Could Be Worse!
Every year our family went on vacation, and on every vacation we went to visit my grandpa who lived
in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Grandpa never seemed to change. He looked the same to me when he passed away as he looked in my earliest
childhood memories of him. He was about five-feet, eight inches tall, slightly stooped, and always soft
spoken.
Grandpa was also a man of very few words. In fact, I don’t think he said more than a total of 100 words
to me in all the years I knew him. One morning as he put the wood in the stove and stocked the fire, I
noticed he was rubbing his back and appeared to be in pain. Concerned, I said, "Oh Grandpa, it looks
like your back is hurting." His response came in a calm voice just barely above a whisper, "It could
be worse." One simple sentence – four words that followed me throughout my life.
While living in Colorado Springs, I was running a few errands to prepare for a trip to California where
I was going to do a program on Change and Laughter for MCI Telecommunications. I slowed down as
I approached a stoplight; but the car behind me didn’t. Crash!! "Oh, this was the last thing I
needed the day before my trip," I grumbled. "What in the word were those people thinking
about? . . . they were not paying attention . . . just bashed into the back of my car . . . they
shouldn’t even be even allowed to drive . . ." my angry self clamored on and on. As often happens
in difficult situations, my stress increased as my negative self-talk persisted.
But suddenly, I stopped. A calm, familiar voice in my head replaced the agitated self chatter. It
was Grandpa’s voice and it said, "It could be worse."
Yes, it could be worse. No one was hurt. The car could be fixed. The world won’t end. Yes, it
could be much worse! Thank you, Grandpa.
So remember, when bad things happen, remind yourself that it could be worse.