So, I’m sure we’ve all heard time and time again that being positive leads to having a positive, fulfilling life, and being negative leads to the total opposite. It makes sense, right? Okay. So think of this: do we really ever stop to think, and analyze the effects that negative emotions have on us? Sure, it’s normal to experience negative emotions. We’re human, and things happen every day that cause us to have negative thoughts and feelings. How do you feel when you’re angry, depressed, or anxious for an extended period of time? I feel miserable. I feel miserable and I want whatever I’m feeling to just go away. Trying to take my mind off of what caused these feelings works sometimes, but other times are not so easy, making it really hard to just do what you can, let it go, and then make a conscious decision to forget about the issue and move on.
Harboring negative thoughts and feelings inside for a long time is extremely detrimental. It’s like holding in a poison (or something else that’s equally as harmful) that eats away at you, causing you to be less enthusiastic, more withdrawn, and worst of all, less likely to be a productive person who lives with purpose and passion. Some experts even claim that being negative, or being exposed to negativity repeatedly can damage neurons in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for problem solving. The human brain is a very complex organ, and reacts accordingly to stimuli, or detectable changes in the internal or external environment. Constant exposure to negativity changes the way we think, process and respond to things. That doesn’t sound good at all, does it?
Okay, so obviously it’s impossible to stay away from negativity (be it from your thoughts and feelings or negativity from other people). Similarly, it’s not possible or even realistic to try to be a ‘positive’ person all the time. As much as many of us would like to be happy, confident, hopeful and inspired 24/7, it’s just not possible. We all are faced with circumstances (quite often), that will cause us to fall into negative thinking. The key is to not let these feelings and thoughts consume you. Have you ever felt like everything is just going all wrong and that the world feels [temporarily] like a hopeless place? Now, have you ever had times where everything seems to be going right, you’re happy and content, and feel like you can take on the world? Well, when I’m happy, and experiencing nothing but positive emotions, I feel like if I could ever be everything that I can be, or do everything that I could ever wish, hope and dream to do, then that would be the perfect time. I feel capable, creative and ready. Ready to take on the world, and ready for anything that life throws at me.
Maintaining a positive attitude and trying our best not to dwell on the negative thoughts and feelings that stem from less than welcome circumstances in our lives is one of the best things that we can do for ourselves. Negative feelings are normal, and are things that we can’t avoid, but whether or not we choose to keep these feelings inside and let them fester and cause our spirits to be dampened and suppressed is totally up to us. Remaining negative, and constantly being negative does nothing for us. It doesn’t change a thing and has absolutely no purpose. Making the conscious decision to try to be positive and to stay away from negative people and situations helps, as well as focusing our energies into being the best versions of ourselves that we can be, without the hindrance that negativity brings.
“Try giving up all the thoughts that make you feel bad, or even just some of them, and see how doing that changes your life. You don’t need negative thoughts. All they have ever given you was a false self that suffers. They are all lies.”
― Gina Lake
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