I asked my friend in Bayonne that I wrote about yesterday, whose neighborhood the storm destroyed, to review yesterday’s post before putting it up.

I found his comments inspiring. I know when reading them I hear his voice. As a personal trainer, he’s almost always upbeat and I can hear his motivating tone in these words. I hope that upbeat, non-judgmental tone comes across in the words.

Other people have lost their homes and I’ve been helping them with it. In my household though, everyone has a different negative attitude about it. One panic, the other inconvenience, and next door someone is in complete despair, crying every day trying to recharge their phone.

One of my clients’ daughter has croupe and she’s worried about her child. All I see is a child who will have a super solid immune system when this is all over. Plus children are supposed to get sick.

And by homes destroyed I mean it will take thousands of dollars to clean up each individual mess for each home, although priceless memories and sentiments were destroyed and cannot be replaced.

You were spot on with my state of mind though. It is the signal, a reminder to thrive, not just get by. If I ever tell myself, “Wow, how did I end up in a situation like this?” and it’s a bad situation, the thrive switch gets flipped and I almost immediately and I feel more alive knowing I have the ability to make every day awesome.

Problems=Happiness.

You can’t have happiness unless you have problems, and since happiness is a fleeting moment, more problems will result in more happiness.

In the midst of material wreckage he not only doesn’t see that wreckage as a problem, he sees it as a source of happiness.

Personally, I see as most inspirational not that he sees ways to make happiness in the face of challenges, but that he doesn’t seem to distinguish between what life throws at him. It’s all material to create more happiness.

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• Perceiving tragedy →