I’ve written and spoken for decades about why it’s important to stay positive. Positivity is good for your health. Positivity lowers stress levels. It increases happiness. It prompts good relationships. The list goes on. However, sometimes, despite our best efforts, bad things happen to us, prompting us to dwell in negativity.
Is it possible to stay positive during negative times? The answer is yes!
Harold Kushner in his book, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” writes that things do not happen to us for any good reason that would cause us to accept them willingly.
But we can give them meaning; we can use tragedies by imposing meaning on them. Therefore, the question that we should be asking is NOT, “Why did this happen to me? What did I do to observe this?” These are really unanswerable and pointless questions.
A better question would be, “Now that this has happened to me, what am I my going to do about it?”
The Importance of a Question
Notice how this question relates to the three practices of positivity, choice, and reflection. The question focuses on the future. It forces us to reflect on choices we made or actions we took. And it is hopeful because it puts the responsibility of change on the asker. With this question, anything is possible, and anything can be changed.
As an aside, you have probably noticed that I refer to the three practices of positivity, choice, and reflection often. My goal is NOT to be redundant; rather, I have learned that repetition is the mother of learning. Their frequent mention is to prompt readers to reflect and be reminded to use them. Implementing these three practices (skills) are critical if you want to stay positive, reduce stress, and become more effective.
Tip: Accept the fact that bad things will sometimes happen. But rather than dwell on them, always ask, “Now that this has happened to me, what am I going to do about it?” By doing so, you’ll find that your mindset shifts immediately and you can stay positive to weather any storm.
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