For as long as I can remember people have always thought of me as a positive person. Someone perpetually happy. A ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. To a certain degree that may be true. I do try to live my life looking on the bright side of things. Looking for the positive. Some days are harder than others.
The other day I got to thinking. While on the outside I may seem happy and positive, I think that what it all boils down to internally is not being sad. Not being hurt. Not being negative. Humans are imperfect beings, and as such, no one is always happy, or always negative or sad. I think it’s an important distinction to make that while yes, being happy is good, not being negative is arguably where we should try to be. A level baseline. I find that in my own life, happiness kind of falls into place when my headspace is in that “not good, not bad” place. Yes, sadness, anxiety, and negative emotions have the same capacity to sway my overall mood, but I find that if I start off from that middle ground, I’m more likely to be aware of situations and thoughts that can spin me into that negative space. From that middle ground, it’s easier for me to take a step back and be prepared to handle things that come my way so that I can maintain that level of positivity people see on the outside. Even if the world around me is anything but.
One thing that has helped me stay positive is gratitude. I frequently take stock of my life and the things I have and feel deep-seated gratefulness for those things that have contributed to my overall emotional well-being. The relationships I have in life, the people that care about and love me, having the basic necessities to live life, and being able to live life knowing that even if I feel sad or anxious, things could always be worse. And if I spend just a little time to really think about it, things really aren’t as bad as I make them out to be in my head.
I think because of this mindset of gratitude, I am drawn toward helping people when I can. I think because I feel so grateful for the people in my life that have helped me, I feel the need to live a life of service to others. To do things that will help others that may need it. And that in turn makes me happy.
I hope this blog does just that.