I am currently working on a project forcing me to do a lot of soul-searching. Shadow work as you might call it. Looking back on the chapters of my life, I noticed 1 thing that stuck out the most. I am exactly where I am today because of positivity. If you have read any of my recent posts, you may have read that I am also labeled as toxically positive. I will admit that I am the most positive person I know, but I can also say that my positivity has helped me overcome many obstacles and kept me out of countless negative situations that could have steered my life in a completely different direction. While writing all of this down, my mind drifted off into other thoughts.
-Who else has ever looked back at their past and observed how positivity has changed the direction of their life completely?
-With all that is known throughout history, why is there so much hate, if positivity could hold the steering wheel to our future?
-What could we do to make the world a more positive place?
Then one event, where I was in a very aggressive situation and I was in the wrong state of mind. I remembered how I was going to make a decision that was emotionally based, but I decided to bite the bullet, take a deep breath and respond differently. I thought the scenario was going to end horribly but it actually had a very good resolution. It may possibly be from me reacting with intentional positivity.
Thinking about that situation brought up even more questions. If it was my positivity that changed the direction from negative to positive, is there also a chance that the people involved felt good about it too, and were intentionally positive themself? If so, I truly believe that we can change the entire world. Of course, it will take way more work. If it was that easy, more people would do it and more people would try and teach it, but we have been so de-sensitized and grown to be very selfish that a lot of us are going to do what we want and not care only to complain about how horrible the world is in the future. . the easiest thing is that the work has to be done from within. We have to be positive intentionally. Let me explain.
When you smile, your body reacts. Yes, you may feel a bit blah sometimes, but smiling is still a physical movement and your body will get the same message in doing the action. When your body gets these messages, they release chemicals in your body that make you feel good. That feeling may be temporary, but it’s still there. Intentionally doing something as simple as smiling will make you feel good, which will make you want to do it more. Humans are habitual creatures so the more you do it, the more it becomes a habit. Once it becomes a habit, it becomes WHO YOU ARE.
Now that is just from a smile, but wait, there is more. After the smile, your mood feels better. When your mood feels better, your physical body language is changed. Your facial features. Your posture. Even the way you do things like opening and closing doors. When you speak, you are more inviting and tend to respond differently. When your mood is good, you tend to be more willing to help. You become more patient. You want to do more. Why? Because it feels good. And now for the good part.
“How can we save the world by intentionally being positive if we are just doing it for ourselves instead of for others?”
That answer is simple. You are just going through the motions of everyday life and simply working on intentional positivity by yourself. You are aware of your emotions and find a way to react positively to situations, that you probably would treat differently, while still fixing the issue. While doing that, you interact with somebody. Because of the way you are walking and the way you are talking, you show happiness. If that somebody is in a bad mood, 1 of 2 things will happen. They will either stay in a bad mood, or they will start to feel better. Am I right? Now, if they are in a good mood, the same can happen, but look at the difference. Instead of helping them go higher, you would be pulling them down. You want them to stay happy. Being positive with somebody who is being positive will have a better outcome in any situation.
Let me say this again though, just to clarify. I am not telling you to be somebody you are not. What I am saying is that we have been so desensitized with emotions and so addicted to instant gratification, that we forget what it’s like to be human. So instead of following the trend of being heartless, out of fear of being taken advantage of or fear of looking weak, start working on the habit of being happier and see if life is as bad as we claim it to be. It isn’t weak to intentionally be positive, and this exercise will show, that to be positive when you feel quite opposite is way harder than acting off emotion. Being positive is strength, not the other way around.