For some reason, it has become the societal standard and socially acceptable to be a pessimist. Now instead of passing a stranger on the street and smiling, we pass a stranger and avoid eye contact. Now instead of holding the door for the person behind you, we hurry through so as to not feel the need to hold the door. Now instead of waking up in an optimistic, hopeful mood, we wake up dreading the day that lies before us. What has happened to the world! As with anything else, it can be hard to stay positive in a world full of negative people. Next time you feel like complaining or spreading negativity, try to remember this:
Somebody will always have worse than you. I know it sounds like the typical speech from your mom when you refuse to eat the vegetable she made with dinner, but it really is something to think about. I challenge you to, for a week, recognize every complaint you make and write it down. At the end of the week, go through the list and decide which ones are actual, real problems. I guarantee the majority of them will not reach that level. This is not to say that we don’t all have problems, but it is important to recognize that our day-to-day complaints are so minuscule in the grand scheme of things. There are children in this world who have no mother. There are hundreds of thousands of human beings that go every day without food and water. Challenge yourself to rationalize your problems and recognize that it could always be worse.
You woke up today! We all have so much to be thankful for. No matter your background of your walk of life, we can all think of something to be thankful for. We take something as simple as waking up each morning for granted! Things that we consider insignificant: food, sunshine, fresh water are all luxuries that we take for granted. I challenge you to bring yourself back down to earth and make the effort to see everything for what it is: a blessing.
Flowers and rainbows exist. Again, little things like flowers and rainbows we take for granted! The world we live in is full of so much beauty, in people, nature and so many other things. It is so easy to find happiness in small things like a fresh bouquet of flowers or a double rainbow after a downpour. Waking up to the sun every morning. Bright green grass. Colorful photos. All things we can look to when we haven’t had such a good day. It’s called natural happiness. Look for it and cherish it.
Somebody loves you. This is the most incredible thing. You should be happy that, through all of your faults, annoying ticks and mistakes, there is someone who does love you, despite all of that. There is someone you can always call if something goes wrong or if you just need to talk. It is nice to be loved and important to feel loved. Love is one of the greatest gifts we have as people: the ability to give and receive. Cherish it.
You can see, hear, touch, taste, smell & feel. Think about it. Imagine a life without a sense of smell or without being able to feel and express ourselves. We are so lucky to live a life where we have all of the capabilities to allow us to lead the best life possible. There is so many parts of our lives that we take for granted, things as simple as these. Learn to appreciate the little things that really are actually big things.
We all have good days and bad days, that is inevitable. We have to remember, though, that we determine our own attitude. In lou of World Happiness Day, remember that it doesn’t have to be world happiness day for you to be happy & positive.
