Over the past five years, I have been digging deep into the happiness world and I have arrived at some very fascinating conclusions. Many of course I share with you in previous blogs as I go along, but this one is what I believe is a game changer. I have determined that we need to be exposed to negativity to grow. Before you bounce please give me a few to clarify what I mean.
If we don’t have negativity in our world at some level how the heck would we ever understand what happiness is and what it means to us? How will you comprehend the positive? This is definitely a question you should pause and think about deeper.
Time to do a pivot
As I do a mental rewind on my life I am trying to remember the path I took and from what intersection I took it. History seems to show me that when my life was the craziest I seemed to have shifted each time to a better route, a happier route. But it didn’t just happen automatically. I had to come to the realization that all the chaos was going on.
If you have no idea what is going on in your world and how it is affecting you, you won’t be able to make any changes. You will just keep skating on by. Many of us have done this our entire lives. Maybe you have been unhappy for many years. Could your immediate environment be the culprit? Are the crazy negative people in your life bringing you down and you not know?
Be honest with yourself
Let’s be realistic, you can’t just keep running away from the negative. That would be freakin exhausting! I tried and it was just thinking about it. Anyway, take the time to reflect on your world. The negative can’t be completely eradicated from your life, so take some of it as go-go juice to get you moving forward.
The negative contrast in your world can actually help elevate you in ways you never imagined. Your brain could tell you, “Hey, these people are weighing me down with all this nonsense drama, time for me to evolve and grow.” With that energy, you could really end up accomplishing so much good stuff. For example, You could have grown up around a lot of gang violence, and then it could fuel you to create a reach-out program for young kids to get them on the right path!
Turn negative into positive!
Conclusion
We need negativity to have the awareness of positivity, so try to do your best to not freak out about it. It is a part of this world but it doesn’t have to bring you down. Pay attention to your own thermostat. When the negativity is bringing you down, time to flip the switch for extra positivity. Find a healthy balance that works for you. Each of us thrives at different temperatures so go with your intuition.
Question
What crazy negative stuff have you been around lately and what have you done to help you arrive at the positive?
