Ok. Maybe the second most important thing!
I’ve been learning this—the hard way—for the last few months. Consistency is important, and so is positivism. I live in a happy home, and I want to keep it that way!
So, here we go again. I did most of this when I was in my teen years. Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill); The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale); all positive contributions to the world of positivism. Both books undoubtedly were a contribution to me in my formative years. Since then, Daniel Goleman–the author of Emotional Intelligence–and Mel Robbins–noted speaker and multiple best-selling author–have made further inroads (or at least made multiple pitches) for positive thinking. The current (for a long time) meditation and mindfulness revival also has an undercurrent of positivism that can’t be denied, and certainly has been an influence to myself and everyone in my life.
Christianity and Buddhism both have been influenced by the more current (and at least as spiritual) waves of positive thinking and positivism. In retrospect, growing up in the Catholic Church, everything I learned about Christ was hardly positive. When I He wasn’t personally suffering (which he always was), he was a hard task master. “Thou shalt not do this…” and “Thou shalt not do that…”. Very old school, and Old Testament!
Yesterday, I ordered (online of course) a back issue of a print magazine, Real Simple, that I’ve picked up in the line at the grocery store a couple of times. I think that my wife, Jan, and I may have even subscribed to a couple of times. The subject of this back issue is “positivity”. The articles delve into the concept of positivity, and how it applies to human psychology. I’ve read some of the articles online, and am looking forward to getting the print edition to read in more detail.
Part of my deep dive into positivism is reading this magazine (cover to cover?) to see what the latest-greatest is on the subject, as well as to perhaps start authoring my own book on the subject. Spoiler alert: It’s not going to be a before and after! The least few years of my life have certainly not been a prime example of living a positivistic life. And, as Jan will attest, I’m not likely to give up my curmudgeonly existence to become a Mel Robbins follower!
Before I sign off on this article, I’d like to invite of any of my readers with a life experience of the power of positivity, or the opposite to share what this has meant to you in your life.
The Comments box is available below. Feel free to copy and paste!
Thanks for reading.