Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is remain positive.
From wondering what will happen next in life to checking the news of the day in various media to chatting with friends on social media, it seems like there is a never-ending cycle of negativity winding around every aspect of people these days.
Seems like you can’t even take a step, take a peak up when at work or sit down for a meal without witnessing something terrible or hearing yet another complaint or another bad news story.
There used to be a time I could remember when life and people used to be filled with lots of optimism and what some would consider a more carefree, less stressed lifestyle.
And there is where I think the key lay — stress.
Society has changed considerably, in a lot of ways, over the last several decades and while many improvements have been made in how we live, it seems like the way people have reacted has gone the opposite way than what you would think it should have all because of the added stress we’ve placed on ourselves.
Think about this for a moment, let’s say you are sitting down for breakfast and checking out what’s taken place the day before through which ever means you prefer.
What exactly are you getting now, that say you weren’t seeing much of 25 years ago?
Well, today you’d likely see more about some terrible crimes and killings, lots about where costs of everything are going, how much profit corporations are taking out of people’s pockets, what the latest happenings are with celebrities and those that want to be famous along with devastation, poverty and just how the next politician can fix everything.
Top that with employers pushing people to do more with less — that includes time and money — plus finding enough to pay for even the most basic of necessities forcing people and families to work longer or more jobs, it translates into having little time to yourself, which causes sleep troubles and a whole host of other stresses that lead to a fair amount of negative thinking.
The problem is that none of this stressful life is going to go away, but how you deal with it or look at it can make a huge difference.
People espousing the phrase ‘think positive’ or ‘have a positive outlook’ are either deluding themselves or over-simplifying things.
By just ‘thinking positive’, nothing will change and will likely get worse since you’ll never see any forward movement or improvement.
No, in order for people to begin to turn that train around, they must be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel as it were. Have a sense of hope that sometime down the road there is something waiting that will make things better for themselves, for their families, for their situation.
Granted, there are many people out there with a belief system that provides them with that, while others feel a different path will hand them that happiness - for lack of a better term.
However, you can’t simply will things to turn out right or to be positive.
That’s where taking action comes into play.
For some, that means working towards a better job through enhancing their education and training in order to stave off the vestiges of the dreaded bill collector, while others believe that a more spiritual mind and body will bring to them to ‘a better place’ and in some instances that means working alongside others to connect with people to show them what they’ve found and that it may help them as well.
In the end though, it will always mean taking some ‘positive’ action to achieve what you feel is right in order to be ‘happy’.
Here’s hoping you can figure it all out and de-stress your life somewhat.
One more note - Speaking of positive, someone I interviewed a few months ago and left a grand impression with his wonderful and positive attitude, fortitude and acceptance of a paralyzing injury as a result of being hit by a texting driver passed away last week. He had only recently began advocating and educating people about the dangers. Best advice ever - put the phone away as you never know what the consequences may be.
But that is…just an observation.