Positivity: Positivity

Positivity cannot be created by thought alone. It cannot be forced.

Over the years there have been numerous concepts presented to us about the “power of positive thinking”. What many take away from this notion is that if you think positive, you will create a better life for yourself.

The problem is, that’s only half the battle, so to speak. It is not just thought, but feeling. If you think positive but don’t feel positive, the end result is not going to be what you want. What’s more, if you take actions that are lacking in positivity, you still will not achieve the desired end result.

Why be positive? Look at the world around us. When we are inundated with negativity, greed, corruption and sadness the more we take that into ourselves, the more we feed it. The more you feed it, the larger it gets. Anyone who has experienced the weight loss yo-yo understands how hard it is to shed excess weight as opposed to adding it. Negativity works in the same way.

Using the same analogy, anyone who has done dieting knows that if you force the change, while you may get an immediate result, it is seldom lasting. Worse, you may end up with more than you started with. You need to take a broader, more long-term vision to remove excess weight. The same is true of removing negativity.

Like making healthy choices in your diet and exercise to regulate weight, we need to make healthy choices in consuming positive over negative things. Be aware of the media you consume, be conscious of the attitudes of the people you keep company with, but most important of all know your own feelings. If you are not feeling positive, you will certainly have a difficult time thinking and acting positive.

Is it worth it? Is the effort to feel, think and act positive really worth all the effort it can take? Yes. Why? Because I don’t know anybody that wants to feel depressed, sad, lonely, or just plain negative consciously. No outside influence will grant us positivity – to find it, we have to reach within ourselves, and when we can do that we can share it, and draw more of it to us.

Finding positivity is not hard, it just requires action. Knowing why it is better to live positive over negative, we can see the value of expending the effort to better our lives. When we know that we can treat positivity like we treat our dietary needs, we can choose a more positive diet, and that can help 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 forty fourth 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.