Old Post Re-Post: Using the Art of Positivity to Your Advantage

Found an old post I wrote in the summer of 2010…my writing style was way more natural and raw back then. I sound smarter and more enlightened here, but maybe that’s just retrospect messing with my head. Either way, real talk below… 

As a kid (up until about 6-12 months ago), any statements having to do with relentless positivity sounded like cliche, self help bullshit that was not applicable in any way. How wrong was I? I forgot to apply the same logic that I apply to everything else I encounter in life as I learn, understand, process, digest and deduce an insight in my own terms.

A quote on a co-workers desk got my thought process started. It said “life is 10% what happens, and 90% how you react to it”. At first, this was something I wanted to brush off as a cliche quotation that is made specifically for people to put up in their desks, to cover up that gray office-issued furniture and act as a vehicle for false hope.

Wrong.This was a “25 year-old manchild” thought.

I started thinking into this and realized that this was like a secret to life or some shit. One event occurs, and the way you react to it changes everything surrounding that event. Not only does it change the way you feel about it, it changes the way people surrounding the event feel about it AND how they feel about you!

An injustice in the work place is a perfect example. Everyone wants to go into bitch mode immediately. Bitch mode is contagious (not to mention unattractive and downright damaging to your professional reputation). But CHOOSE to put it into positive terms and immediately you’ve made the situation better for yourself and everyone else around you.

Bottom line is that the 10/90 quote made me arrive at the realization that positive attitude is impenetrable. If you make the choice to react positively to the events of your life, whether bad or good, you cannot be moved. Nothing can throw you. Also, you will completely avoid the pitfall of perpetual negativity towards one thing or another (for example, if you keep dwelling on how much you dislike your roommate, he/she will seem worse and worse with each action even if the actions remain consistent).

So, take it or leave it but I propose that next time you come to a challenging life juncture (or anything that will spark a reaction), pause that reaction. Derive the outcomes of a positive and negative reaction first and see where each choice will take you. Then decide how you will react (not a science of course as some reactions are harder to control than others). The positive spin will always be the most favorable.

Then as you surround yourself with this new-found positivity protective bubble, a feeling of confidence and enlightenment will come over you (if only on a small scale) and that may just make you feel a little more grown up (and ready to take on whatever may come).

Karma is real. Use it to your advantage.