Blog Dis
Positively positive
2025-04-08
Life isn't supposed to be easy. Life is designed by nature to challenge and thwart your grandiose plans for success. Life is about finding the strength within yourself to keep going when all odds appear to be conspiring against you. This is life's primary purpose, to throw in front of you every curve ball imaginable. Life wants you to sort out the good and bad and not place this expectation at life's feet. This is life's job. Your job is to cultivate an attitude that benefits you as you go about your way navigating through life.
I'm a believer in positive thinking. An experience I had one innocent weekend, illustrated this fact to me more than ever. I went for aesthetic services (shan't be too specific) and during the treatment, the practitioner bitched for two solid hours about their problems. This individual was such a downer in all aspects of their thinking, that by the time I left I had a gargantuan headache, and it lasted for two days; their toxicity had literally toxified me. I knew at that moment that I'd never return to this individual again. At one point, I attempted to delicately suggest that some positive thoughts might be beneficial in helping to cope with their problems. No sooner had I uttered these words, which were not intended to be dismissive, I was then confronted with more waves of negativity, an emphatic and angry assurance by the person that, "I thought positive but everything still turned to sh*t!" To which I replied, "I see." I could only acknowledge softly, hoping to calm down the person, "I believe you may be mistaken on your understanding of positive thinking and what it really means," I offered.
Incidentally, correcting an individual's misperception only elevated the individual's agitation, and their look back at me very nearly burrowed into my skull. Note to self: Keep advice to oneself, unless solicited. 🤫
No one possesses the power to alter the future chain of events or circumstances that affect us directly, if in fact they appear to be out of our control. And thinking positive as a way of ensuring everything will come our way certainly doesn't work either. The real application of positive thinking is when everything does and can go wrong, and you feel like sticking your head in the toilet. This is when you focus on the positive aspects of your life to minimize your anxiety. In other words, positive thinking is a form of gratitude, and gratitude works when you focus on everything in your life that gives you good reason to be grateful, like being above ground (as opposed to six feet under), being able to breathe, to eat, to function, to pay your bills, to enjoy free time, when you can. Positive thinking won't change things for you because to think positive is to actively change yourself. When you allow negative events to fire up your brain, and you subsequently fall into the trap of bitching about these unhappy events, you merely increase the focus of your negativity and make it worse.
Allow me to repeat this wee pearl of wisdom, gentle readers. Positive thinking changes you and how you regard your situation, thereby making it less arduous. Seems simple enough. I am guilty, however, of allowing my thoughts to run wild at times when I fall into the trap of highlighting the unfairness of individuals, if I'm being treated unfairly or if I see that someone else is on the receiving end of unfairness. Then I need to vent, and vent I will. Yet, and in retrospect, I know this isn't a form of positive thinking. I just need to blow off a little steam when I vent, and then I'm done.
There are ways to cheat, of course, as there are always ways to cheat. You can manipulate the chemicals in your brain to bring about greater states of happiness, which some people are convinced are also forms of positive thinking. I think these ideas are a hoot and I must confess I've tried several myself. The positive vibes are temporary of course but then nothing exists in a static state. When alive, everything is in a constant state of flux, more so with emotions. But people achieve temporary positivity thru the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol to numb their pain (when in fact alcohol is a depressant) and also with the application of over-the-counter mood enhancers (L-Theanine comes to mind, tho' it works wonders for many with seasonal affected disorder), weed, food and a host of illicit chemicals, used to escape life, to avoid dealing with seemingly insurmountable problems. Sex is perhaps one of the healthier options to feel positive bcus achieving an orgasm is an ideal way to release endorphins in your brain that make you feel relaxed and peaceful. But is it happiness if you're engaging in unsafe sex, when it may potentially affect a partner, if a significant other is in the picture? Surely, the immediate happiness will degrade if you get caught with your pants down. For me, I typically know where to go, for dark chocolate, my instant fix. I'm also fortunate to have been blessed with a calm temperament on the whole and I know this is self-perpetuating.
Positivity is contagious. And similarly, negativity is infectious. I've seen the results myself. When I spend time in the company of someone who is nothing but negative, I want to avoid this person in future. It's as though their negative waves reach out with invisible hands and push me away from them. Whereas, the positive spirit is someone who surrounds themselves with an aura of contentment. It is this wisdom of living that will benefit you and your friends in the long run. As goes the adage, people who believe they're lucky are the ones whom luck always seems to find, just like those who practice gratitude daily, to focus on the positive, rather than the negative - they seem happier.
Well, I'm feeling mighty positive this morning, despite the unwelcome dumping of snow, the crazy stock market swings, and it being tax season too. I may not have slept the best last night, but at least my brain is going to generate more positive vibes as every hour passes. And coincidentally, it doesn't hurt either that a bar of dark chocolate is waiting for me in the wings of the refrigerator as I type these very words.
May your light shine bright and radiate positivity.
I'm a believer in positive thinking. An experience I had one innocent weekend, illustrated this fact to me more than ever. I went for aesthetic services (shan't be too specific) and during the treatment, the practitioner bitched for two solid hours about their problems. This individual was such a downer in all aspects of their thinking, that by the time I left I had a gargantuan headache, and it lasted for two days; their toxicity had literally toxified me. I knew at that moment that I'd never return to this individual again. At one point, I attempted to delicately suggest that some positive thoughts might be beneficial in helping to cope with their problems. No sooner had I uttered these words, which were not intended to be dismissive, I was then confronted with more waves of negativity, an emphatic and angry assurance by the person that, "I thought positive but everything still turned to sh*t!" To which I replied, "I see." I could only acknowledge softly, hoping to calm down the person, "I believe you may be mistaken on your understanding of positive thinking and what it really means," I offered.
Incidentally, correcting an individual's misperception only elevated the individual's agitation, and their look back at me very nearly burrowed into my skull. Note to self: Keep advice to oneself, unless solicited. 🤫
No one possesses the power to alter the future chain of events or circumstances that affect us directly, if in fact they appear to be out of our control. And thinking positive as a way of ensuring everything will come our way certainly doesn't work either. The real application of positive thinking is when everything does and can go wrong, and you feel like sticking your head in the toilet. This is when you focus on the positive aspects of your life to minimize your anxiety. In other words, positive thinking is a form of gratitude, and gratitude works when you focus on everything in your life that gives you good reason to be grateful, like being above ground (as opposed to six feet under), being able to breathe, to eat, to function, to pay your bills, to enjoy free time, when you can. Positive thinking won't change things for you because to think positive is to actively change yourself. When you allow negative events to fire up your brain, and you subsequently fall into the trap of bitching about these unhappy events, you merely increase the focus of your negativity and make it worse.
Allow me to repeat this wee pearl of wisdom, gentle readers. Positive thinking changes you and how you regard your situation, thereby making it less arduous. Seems simple enough. I am guilty, however, of allowing my thoughts to run wild at times when I fall into the trap of highlighting the unfairness of individuals, if I'm being treated unfairly or if I see that someone else is on the receiving end of unfairness. Then I need to vent, and vent I will. Yet, and in retrospect, I know this isn't a form of positive thinking. I just need to blow off a little steam when I vent, and then I'm done.
There are ways to cheat, of course, as there are always ways to cheat. You can manipulate the chemicals in your brain to bring about greater states of happiness, which some people are convinced are also forms of positive thinking. I think these ideas are a hoot and I must confess I've tried several myself. The positive vibes are temporary of course but then nothing exists in a static state. When alive, everything is in a constant state of flux, more so with emotions. But people achieve temporary positivity thru the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol to numb their pain (when in fact alcohol is a depressant) and also with the application of over-the-counter mood enhancers (L-Theanine comes to mind, tho' it works wonders for many with seasonal affected disorder), weed, food and a host of illicit chemicals, used to escape life, to avoid dealing with seemingly insurmountable problems. Sex is perhaps one of the healthier options to feel positive bcus achieving an orgasm is an ideal way to release endorphins in your brain that make you feel relaxed and peaceful. But is it happiness if you're engaging in unsafe sex, when it may potentially affect a partner, if a significant other is in the picture? Surely, the immediate happiness will degrade if you get caught with your pants down. For me, I typically know where to go, for dark chocolate, my instant fix. I'm also fortunate to have been blessed with a calm temperament on the whole and I know this is self-perpetuating.
Positivity is contagious. And similarly, negativity is infectious. I've seen the results myself. When I spend time in the company of someone who is nothing but negative, I want to avoid this person in future. It's as though their negative waves reach out with invisible hands and push me away from them. Whereas, the positive spirit is someone who surrounds themselves with an aura of contentment. It is this wisdom of living that will benefit you and your friends in the long run. As goes the adage, people who believe they're lucky are the ones whom luck always seems to find, just like those who practice gratitude daily, to focus on the positive, rather than the negative - they seem happier.
Well, I'm feeling mighty positive this morning, despite the unwelcome dumping of snow, the crazy stock market swings, and it being tax season too. I may not have slept the best last night, but at least my brain is going to generate more positive vibes as every hour passes. And coincidentally, it doesn't hurt either that a bar of dark chocolate is waiting for me in the wings of the refrigerator as I type these very words.
May your light shine bright and radiate positivity.
