Positivity is a CHOICE

It requires constant vigilance and conscious choosing.

Over the past year, I have become increasingly conscious of how I feel in certain environments and around specific people. For example, keeping the company of people who wallow in their afflictions and are always down in the dumps or those who seem to recycle their anger and never completely let go of it. I have also felt how my spirit feels rejuvenated simply by talking to someone who is striving to focus on positivity.

Some people don’t want saving from their sinkholes of sadness, and others want to walk in their self-produced wildfires. I have learned that there is no guilt in leaving these people to their own devices. If they don’t want a way out, then why am I wasting my energy and time on interacting with them when it depletes me emotionally and mentally? However, interacting with these people has made me realize that I struggle in these areas as well; wallowing in my sadness (The Root of a Challenge), and not letting go of anger. I paid attention to these moments and when I let my emotions get the best of me, and noticed that many of these instances occur when there is miscommunication, when I am running late, or feel trapped doing something that I don’t want to do.

Some self-appointed challenges that I have given myself to aid in growing into a more at ease individual, and which may assist your own growth, include the following:

-Joy Journal: Keeping a small book and writing at least one good thing that happened that day. This is different from a regular journal or diary, where nothing upsetting is allowed to be written in this book.

-Soulitude: Taking time each day for yourself, appreciating life, being present in the moment, and/or processing your day or what you will do during the day. (This is term is defined in Tara-Jenelle Walsch’s book, Soul Courage, which you can check out here.)

-Identifying and Acknowledging Emotions: Identifying an emotion as it arises, assessing why it arises, and how to best react and articulate this emotion. This is further ellaborated in Tara-Jenelle Walsch's book, Soul Courage, also aids in clear communication.

-Adapting my Speech to be Precise: In other words, “Say what you mean, and mean what you say.” Banishing wishy-washy words, and being unashamedly honest and accurate in how I feel. In addition to this, I have decided to say either positive things or constructive criticism, the latter being critique with justification in order to prevent unfounded malice. This helps with clear communication.

-Adapting to Unsettling Situations: Assessing whether the best response to an unsettling situation (conversations, people, environments, ect.) is physically remove myself or finding an activity to combat my restlessness. In regards to a job or occupation, it is identifying what makes me feel fulfilled, whether it is changing my mindset or behavior in my current occupation or taking steps to find a more fulfilling role and then pursuing it.

-Smiling when I’m Frustrated in Traffic: This may be an oddball in this list, and yet, rush hour is the time when we are at our grumpiest and most impatient. By adapting my response to people who cut me off, take too long to turn, or ride my bumper, I am practicing skills that I can use in other situations that I feel frustrated. Even if I don’t smile with all my heart, the act of smiling is psychologically and biologically working in my favor to make me happier (via the release of endorphins).

What you turn your attention to, is the lens through which you interpret your world.

As Principle Baylor challenges, “Make it a great day or not. The choice is yours.”