Life is hard. No, seriously. Think back to the amount of gut-wrenching and life-altering decisions you've made. You've made it <Your Age Here> years because of your own hard work and effort. Good Job!
You feel that little warm and fuzzy feeling? You know, that little bubble of giddiness that grew three sizes when you received a thumbs up and a smile from the one and only, Chuck Norris? That, my friend, is the power of positivity. What if I told you that you have the same power as the all-powerful Chuck Norris in the palm of your hand? Well, more like the tip of your finger, but you get my point.
Positivity is a long-forgotten aspect of our lives. It's an idea of the past that has been buried deep beneath an avalanche of political scandals and terrible superhero movies. We're constantly bombarded by opinions and facts that weigh us down into the mud, forcing us to dread every little bit of human interaction. But, why? Why should we allow the weight of the world to take away the shining light of positive thinking?
One of my favorite authors, John Green, recently put out a video about this exact topic. He spoke about the power of a thumbs up that he received while jogging. After getting outran by another jogger, that jogger turned around and gave him a thumbs up. John not only experienced a significant boost in performance but also noticed that he enjoyed the jog more. A small, insignificant gesture from someone much more skilled than him, or at least faster, caused a measurable difference in his jogging.
However, he soon found that it wasn't only when he received the thumbs up. As he jogged past other people on his path, he gave them a thumbs up and a smile. The enjoyment persisted. He was enjoying himself because he took the extra second to positively acknowledge the people around him.
Negativity can be a weight that we carry on our shoulders. When we approach our lives with negativity, we take something that is already incredibly difficult and just compound the difficulties. When we approach other people with negativity, we make things even worse. There's no way to know what kind of experience someone is having, what kind of hardships they face on a regular basis. Something as small as a smile and a thumbs up can mean the world to someone who just needs some acknowledgment.
So, try it out. The next time you're walking along the sidewalk and you match eyes with someone, give them a thumbs up and a smile.
