Negativity, such an unpleasant word, such a sour feeling. Negativity is nobody's friend and everyone's enemy. Yes, it is natural for bad to exist, because without it we would not have good. However, when it becomes a problem is when it begins to consume us, which happens for many of us way too often.
It's almost as if you can viscerally feel it, heavy in your chest, aching in your stomach, lingering in the back of your mind. Dwelling in the back of your mind when your trying to fall asleep, and creeping up on you in the morning even though you hoped it would spare you. Not to say this happens every day, but we've all been there.
We are only humans, things bother us, things happen in our lives and the lives of others that we are not okay with. The world is far, far from a perfect place, human beings are very flawed, we are all flawed. But, at the end of the day that is okay. It is what it is and things are how they are. So, if we could match our negativity with some positivity and embrace it with a little acceptance, we might find life feeling a little lighter.
Here are some tips I've stumbled upon in my struggle to remove negativity from my life:
1. Early to bed, early to rise
This one has been so hard for me, I've spent years on years going to bed between 2 and 5 am, and sleeping through way too much daylight. What made me realize I had to change this is the hours I'd lie awake when most of the world was sleeping, was that the "relaxation" I was achieving was laced with my utmost negative thoughts. I was my most negative self at these hours and I would dwell and overthink and try and force myself to sleep. Now that I've started waking up earlier, I feel productive, I soak up the sun, and I'm too tired at night to waste my time dwelling on the more gray sides of life.
2. Don't be too serious-
While sometimes I depend on humor a little too much, humor to avoid and sugarcoat reality, sometimes it is highly effective. I learned when I was little that a lot of the things that upset us in the moment are things we look back on and laugh when we put them into perspective. Our own sadness becomes our own amusement because we all know in the moment we're all our most reactive melodramatic selves, whereas in the future we've become blessed with time, space, and wisdom. My point is if you can laugh about it later, why not start now. Don't let the negativity in your life bring you down, make it into the joke it is. Just don't become too dependent on this because it's not a solution, just a deflection, and lighter approach.
3. You have the potential to be your own worst enemy, don't be.
I think we've all realized that we at times tend to be our own harshest critic, we know ourselves so well that we know all our flaws and all our downfalls like the back of our hand. It's interesting because a lot of us are too sympathetic to pick apart other human beings, but the empathy we have for others seems to disappear when dealing with ourselves. We're always seeking out people who have the same interests as us, but who do you think has everything in common with you ? You do. As obvious as that seems learn to love the things you love on your own than share those things with others. I love my best friends endlessly, but I realized that you also have to be your own best friend as well.
There it is, feel what you have to feel, it's normal it's healthy. Just know when to stop dwelling and start loving life. Life, with all its high-points and all its downfalls is a beautiful thing.
