A few years ago a friend and I were handed the task of “entertaining” some foreign students for the day. We didn't have very good attitudes about it but begrudgingly decided to take them to a local fair filled with rides, carnival games, shows, contests, and everything else you can think of.

Since we were feeling so negative about the fair we realized it was going to be the worst day ever unless we made it awesome. So we came up with a plan. The Plan if you will. And we called it “Superfun.”

The concept was simple: we were going to be over-the-top excited about absolutely everything we did at the fair, whether it be rides, cheesy shows, kids' concerts, or whatever else came up. We also decided to run everywhere. It was going to be super fun.

It is so easy to adopt a negative attitude when you're in a situation you'd rather not be. We decide, due to feelings such as selfishness, resentment, or pride, that we will not be positive and stick to it. But wouldn't life be so much simpler if we just decided to make the best of our situation?

Of course this concept isn't new at all. In fact, it has been trivialized to the point of trite clichés. Here are a few examples.

• When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
• Every cloud has a silver lining
• It's always darkest before the dawn
• No pain, no gain
• Fake it till you make it

And at my office people are known to say, “It's not a problem, it's an opportunity.” Maybe it's such an obvious concept no one feels the need to go deeper, but it still feels shallow. The funny thing, at least for me, is the clichés work. If I'm in a negative spot and someone throws one of those sayings my way I find, despite myself, my mind slowly opening up to the positive and giving the negative less hold.

The same happened with our Superfun plan. Although we weren't looking forward to our day at the fair somehow our attitudes shifted the longer we cheered, laughed, clapped, and ran. Even now, years later, I can't think of another time I have had as much fun.

And as a bonus, a complete stranger begged me to sell her my neon green visor I had donned especially for the fair. So not only was it the best day ever, but I made $5.