On staying positive
If you know me at all, you probably know I strongly promote maintaining a positive outlook in life… so much so that I have gotten tattoos to that effect. However, I feel like the “stay posi” lifestyle as I see it needs some clarification.
I’ve learned you need to be real, you need to be objective, and you need to be truthful- especially with yourself. I used to fake a smile no matter what because I had labeled myself as a “positive” person. However, I have come to terms with the fact that I am not going to be happy all the time. No one is happy all the time. And anyone who claims to be happy all the time is lying to you, because bad things are inevitable in life. When those bad things happen It’s normal and healthy to be angered or upset. You can’t help your feelings, but you can help your actions- so that’s why it’s the next step that is most important. It’s how you spin the situation, it’s how you solve the problem. It’s okay to be sad that maybe you feel like your life is going nowhere for example. But the truly positive person takes those feelings and uses them as fuel to make a change- move to a new city, quit your job and try something completely different. It’s all about perspective. Things probably aren’t as bad as they seem when you look at it from another viewpoint. Accept and address your problems, then do your best to fix them and move on- don’t ignore them all together.
The second part of this has to do with hope. Hope is an interesting concept. It gets lumped in with virtues like love, joy, and peace constantly. It seems like something that would go hand in hand with maintaining a positive lifestyle. Well, not in my opinion. Hope is nothing more than wishful thinking. Hope is just like faith (a topic I’ll probably rant about later). It’s a crutch that makes people weak. Instead of hoping for change, or hoping for the best, go out and fucking do what you need to do to make that happen. Believe in yourself and bring about your own change to your life. You are in control. Simply wanting or expecting something to happen, doesn’t make it happen. When someone says “I have hope, I’m staying positive” all I can think is, well great but who the fuck is that helping? Yourself included…
FINALLY, staying positive does not equal being a passive bitch. Believe me, I’m all for resolving conflict peacefully. I think violence is wrong and whenever possible should be avoided. But notice I said whenever possible- not always. There are times when you need to stand up for yourself. Whether that be a kid being bullied in school, or a people being oppressed by their government. You are not being “negative” by asserting your rights to live a happy life. Violence should be a last resort, but in my opinion should not be ruled out completely simply because one is trying to remain “positive”.
So with all that said, stay posi everyone. It really is amazing the changes you start to see in life when you look at things in a positive light. People tend to reflect your attitudes back on to you. Smile and show kindness and you start receiving it a lot more in return.
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