Positivity is a Steppingstone
Life happens one step at a time. Every instance of positivity is a steppingstone towards improvements.
In the middle of an ongoing pandemic; in the face of uncertainty on almost every imaginable level – we NEED positivity.
Every little bit counts. Why? Because even a moment of positivity can be a steppingstone to improve life.
I know that the notion of the power of “positive thinking” has been wildly abused over the years. When you mention this, or positivity for that matter, it conjures hack phrases. “Just think positive and it’ll all be okay” and “don’t be negative, only be positive” and the like.
But let’s face it – shit happens. Sometimes you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed after a night of little to no sleep. The idea of ignoring and erasing negativity is utterly laughable.
Even with the best attitude and positioning – this is no less true. You can’t not have bad experiences. That’s the nature of life.
BUT – you can choose to soak in them, lament them, let them absorb you – or – you can decide to choose to release them. Let them go. Move on.
Even the tiniest bit of positivity is a steppingstone in that process.
Attitude shifters
More than once, I have written about making use of attitude shifters.
Attitude shifters are things that you can store in your mind to help you feel good.
But – and this is super important – they are not used to “feel good all-the-time.” First – that’s impossible. No matter what all the books and gurus say about the power of positive thinking and all related notions – nobody feels good all the time. Period.
Life is a roller coaster. You will experience exhilarating climbs, terrifying drops, and probably loop-de-loops along the way. But you get to choose how it will impact you.
An attitude shifter is a notion that helps you to alter your state-of-mind at this moment. Its intent and purpose are to shift your mindset/headspace/psyche here and now. It may last a short time – but that short time is enough to help you regain perspective.
Every little bit is a steppingstone to being in a better place when you’re in a bad place.
We live in a society that loves to throw blame around. Don’t be accountable, take no responsibility. It’s all the fault of someone else. For example – look at how Trump blames anyone and everyone for anything he fails at and takes NO responsibility whatsoever. Zero accountability, all blame, all the time.
This is a choice. You can decide if you will be accountable for your part in your negative experiences. How long you hold onto the bad is wholly your decision.
Hence why using attitude shifters to alter your mindset in the moment is empowering. It’s a steppingstone of positivity to improve life.
Attitude shifters include anything that makes you feel good, even for a moment. Cat videos, laughing kids, cookies, warm blankets, and anything else you can think of to stimulate your senses positively.
Positivity is a steppingstone of intent
Because you have the power to alter how you think and feel, positivity is an intentional act. When you make use of attitude shifters, for example, you are laying down the steppingstones of positivity to change your mindset/headspace/psyche.
The other day, I was feeling down because it was grey and gross outside. Also, it was cold. I was feeling bad and frustrated by feeling like I wasn’t doing all I could to advance my life. That sets up a downward spiral that’s challenging to recover from.
I could have lingered there. But instead, I sat down and started working on my latest novel. Before I knew it, I was in the zone, the ideas were flowing, and I felt much, much better.
I made a choice. Instead of staying in that terrible headspace, I took action to move out of it.
Once I did stop working, I admit I returned part-way to the bad headspace I had been in. But it was not the same, and I didn’t let it dominate the rest of my day.
Positivity is an action that can be naught but a steppingstone away from feeling bad. Yes, sometimes it is going to feel forced – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Every thought and feeling you have can be changed. I know it doesn’t always feel like this is true – but it is. No matter what you are thinking or what and how you are feeling you can change it.
Why? Because there’s nobody in your head but you. Even when shit happens and life gets massively fucked up, you can still choose how it impacts you.
Mindfulness and positivity
Mindfulness is awareness, here and now, of your conscious self. This is how you know what you are thinking, what and how you’re feeling, actions you’re taking, and the intentions behind them.
When things go wrong – and they will – you might feel awful. Life will sometimes make you think terrible things. But you have the power to decide how long you think and feel that way. Mindfulness is how you pull yourself out of it.
You need to experience negativity. Plain and simple, it’s unavoidable and necessary. Life is yin and yang, and while we mostly live between all given extremes – experiencing them is how we grow, learn, change, and LIVE.
Okay, all that being written, positivity is a steppingstone you can lay down to move out of a negative headspace. Attitude shifters, change of venue, distractions, and many other factors can be used to get you away from bad thoughts and feelings.
Too many people allow themselves to be focused on the negative. And that’s where we tend to get it wrong. Yes, you can, will, and should have negative experiences in life. But you get to choose how long you hold onto them, allow them to dominate and impact you – or to release them, let them go, and move on.
Every bit of positivity you can find and/or create is a steppingstone to moving on. Hence why positivity need not be an all-the-time permanent fixture of your life.
But it is important.
Consciousness creates reality
If you choose to live in the negative; when you decide that life is just shit and you are powerless to change it; when all you see is bad things – that’s what you manifest.
Like the law of gravity, the law of attraction doesn’t care if you believe in it or not. It’s there and in action. Feel down, think badly, and more things will manifest to continue to power that.
Positive energy is more powerful than negative. And that’s part of why even tiny amounts can be sufficient to alter your overall mindset/headspace/psyche.
But this is a choice. You get to decide how you spend any given day. When you have a bad day – and you will – you decide how bad it will be. You choose to wallow in it – or find a way out of it. Positivity is a steppingstone in and of itself to build a path out of the bad and unwanted places life takes us.
Life happens one step at a time. Every instance of positivity is a steppingstone towards improvements in your life experience.
Using positivity as a steppingstone isn’t hard
But it requires mindfulness of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intent.
Knowing that positivity is a steppingstone, and can be that minimal, you can use this to find and/or create new paths to leave bad things behind when they threaten to overwhelm you. When you see that even small amounts of positivity can change your life by letting you take control, that ultimately empowers you.
When you feel empowered, your mindfulness increases, you become more aware overall, and that can spread to people around you. This creates a feedback loop of awareness and positivity.
You build more positive feelings and discover further reasons to feel positivity and gratitude. That can be the impetus to improve numerous aspects of your life for the better, help overcome the overwhelming negativity of any current situation, and generate yet more positivity and gratitude.
An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of immense positivity. That positivity can generate even more good energies – and that, like you, is always worthwhile. You are worthy and deserving of all the good you desire.
This is the three-hundred and fifty-seventh 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.
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