Learning to be Positive

Good Morning readers!

The sun is shining and the first brave little birdies, fooled by our mid-february heat wave, tweettheir arrival. if it was 30 degrees warmer I’d be frolicking outside with the dogs.

Have you ever heard of that saying that it takes fewer facial muscles to smile than frown? Personally, growing up with at least every fifth person telling me to smile more/asking why I look upset (I just have one of ‘those faces’ apparently), I have heard every scientific/useless piece of human smile-logic in existence. And it sucks. I really find nothing more annoying.

On a different note, have you ever encountered someone who, no matter what toils/annoyances they were experiencing, always presented themselves with a cheerful smile and positive attitude? I have, and honestly, it bewilders me. How could someone always be so positive all the time? I’ve known a handful of people who fall into this category and I have always felt a combination of confusion and jealousy. Why can’t I be so cheerful and positive all the time?

The thing is, I can. I’m a little older now and having burdened myself with these questions my whole life I’ve made it a point to study positivity in others. I’ve arrived at a few conclusions.

1. Positivity takes practice.

Once the habit forms, like anything else, it ceases to require conscious effort.

2. Once Positivity becomes a habit things actually start to appear more positive. 

Why do we (well, me, myself, I) always focus on the negative? There is always positive and negative in everything. Just like smiling and frowning we make an unconscious decision to lean towards one or the other. Is this because one is easier or because we simply made this decision without being aware and formed a habit?

3. When focusing on Positive things we actually attract more positive outcomes into our lives. 

This one is a little corny, but I was coerced into watching a documentary on Netflix (The Secret) about the laws of attraction. Although I only made it about 20 minutes it gave me some pretty decent take-aways.

I don’t know If it’s as literal as “think about what you want and the universe will respond in kind.” I interpret thing theory more like this;

We train ourself to look on the bright side, view things in a positive light, and we unconsciously start noticing the positive in all aspects of life. Not necessarily because the universe is responding to our positive brainwaves, but because the positive was always there and now we have learned to see it.

I am making it my goal to learn the habit of positivity. It really does takes semi-constant vigilance. I am not neurotic enough to monitor every singly thought, but I am confident that I can train myself to have a positive outlook no matter the circumstance.

I realize now that instead of recognizing all the wonderful things in my life, I have formed the habit of taking them for granted and focused instead of the hardships and annoyances as if they were unwelcome intrusions into my world.

I should do the opposite; there will always be hardships, because life is challenging sometimes. I choose to accept these challenges as they are ever-present entities, and all the wonderful things I have are unwarranted bonuses with the sole purpose of making me cheerful and happy.

❤ Cammy