Positivity: The Challenge

I started the weekly blog about Positivity because Monday in particular seems to bring out an immense amount of negativity.

Perhaps it is the completion of what for most people is the “weekend”, that two days where you are not at work and doing things you want versus things you have to. Perhaps the return to the work week and the pressures of earning a living as opposed to hanging out with friends and family overwhelms our ability to feel good.

Perhaps it is the inundation of negativity from the media and other disappointments. The continued coverage of the awful politics in the USA, people driven from their homes in the middle east by fanatics, or perhaps economic crisis and greed around the globe might have something to do with it. Even petty things like inappropriate comments by scholars, celebrities and scientists or even the always-rising body count from Game of Thrones can drive negativity into our week.

No matter what is making us feel uneasy, unhappy, irksome or otherwise negative, we have the choice about what to do with it. Let it fester, feed the fire and fan the flames of things that make us feel bad…or seek something else, find something that instead makes us feel good and opens us to positivity instead of negativity.

I find maintaining this particular part of my blog to be quite the challenge some weeks. Sure, there are times when it is easy to write about positivity and why it’s a good thing we all need. But I will admit that there are weeks when I am not feeling it. I’m tired, I’m cranky, the various news articles I glance at disappoint and anger me, I step in a pile of cat puke on the way the bathroom. Now my choice is do I let these things override my desire to find and have and share more positivity…or do I push past them and present you with my words here?

Why bother? Why do I make this effort every week? Why do I share it with you? Because I need it. I need to feel positivity more than negativity. I started this process nearly a year and a half ago because I needed to make myself feel more positive, and I thought that sharing this idea contributed to that.

It really does. No one is happy all the time. We all have bad days, we all find things that make us feel negative. However, we also have control over what we do with this. Do I remain negative, or do I seek out attitude shifters and things that make me smile and give thanks for the things I have and seek positivity? Do I let negativity linger and let myself feel bad and let my day be dictated by that, or do I let it go and take control and find positivity?

Negativity destroys. Positivity builds. Negativity begets negativity. Positivity begets positivity. Negativity is contagious. Positivity is contagious. Negativity feels bad. Positivity feels good.  Does it matter? Yes, it does. It is for that reason I share Positivity with you every week, and it is for that reason I will continue to find it in my life and share in the hopes it helps you find it in yours.

Finding positivity is not hard, but that does not mean it is easy…it just requires action. Knowing that seeking out positivity makes us feel better should we choose means to do that or should we choose instead to let negativity stand? I believe we should choose Positivity. By choosing to be more positive we choose to feel better about our lives, and this in turn will empower us. When we feel empowered, we often spread that feeling to others around us, and as such can build more positive feelings. We can use the positive feelings this generates to dissolve negative feelings. When we take away negative feelings, we open up space to let in positive feelings, and that is something we can be grateful for. Gratitude leads to happiness. Happiness is the ultimate positive attitude. Positive attitude begets positive energy, and that is always a good thing.

This is the seventy-second entry of my Positivity series.  It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone.  Feel free to share, re-blog and spread the positivity.