Positive Energy
It takes energy to be positive -- That's why we so often slip into a negative, grumbly, cantankerous state. Maintaining optimism demands a certain amount of effort and energy.
"I want to be a more positive, joyful person," folks often say, "but I just don't have the inner strength to pull it off." Now, although this is true - there's another important fact we must remember -- being negative requires a tremendous amount of energy as well.
The difference?
Being positive requires "pre-energy" (becoming), while being negative zaps us in the "post-energy" (being) department. For instance - The hardest part in having a good day is the up front determination - "I'm going to have a good day, regardless of what happens!" "I'll do whatever it takes to make the best of it."
My good friend, Nickie Kohler, once told me "I've never had a bad day. I've had plenty of bad moments - but never a bad day." How could she say this? Because she extended the "pre-energy" to become positive. She did her hard work up front. She has made up her mind to keep looking for the good, and is one of the most positive people I've ever met in my whole life.
On the other hand, the slide into negative doom and gloom is almost effortless at first. It seems perfectly natural - Like sliding on the ice and ending up in the ditch. Getting in is not too hard - getting out is a greater task.
Once we are stuck in the swamp of self-pity, life becomes much, much more difficult. Have you ever tried to hike through the mud? Every step requires triple effort - that's the way negativity operates in our lives.
In the end, being negative requires about ten times the amount of emotional energy than being positive. I think I'd rather pay the price up front and enjoy the journey, than to take the free ride downhill to despair.
"I want to be a more positive, joyful person," folks often say, "but I just don't have the inner strength to pull it off." Now, although this is true - there's another important fact we must remember -- being negative requires a tremendous amount of energy as well.
The difference?
Being positive requires "pre-energy" (becoming), while being negative zaps us in the "post-energy" (being) department. For instance - The hardest part in having a good day is the up front determination - "I'm going to have a good day, regardless of what happens!" "I'll do whatever it takes to make the best of it."
My good friend, Nickie Kohler, once told me "I've never had a bad day. I've had plenty of bad moments - but never a bad day." How could she say this? Because she extended the "pre-energy" to become positive. She did her hard work up front. She has made up her mind to keep looking for the good, and is one of the most positive people I've ever met in my whole life.
On the other hand, the slide into negative doom and gloom is almost effortless at first. It seems perfectly natural - Like sliding on the ice and ending up in the ditch. Getting in is not too hard - getting out is a greater task.
Once we are stuck in the swamp of self-pity, life becomes much, much more difficult. Have you ever tried to hike through the mud? Every step requires triple effort - that's the way negativity operates in our lives.
In the end, being negative requires about ten times the amount of emotional energy than being positive. I think I'd rather pay the price up front and enjoy the journey, than to take the free ride downhill to despair.
Awesome story that has come at a perfect time for me. Right now positive thinking is easy because we just baptized ten people on Sunday and already I have been approached by five more who want to pursue it. Positive thinking was easy the day I came home from your FLAME class until I had an encounter that I really dropped the ball on, you can read about at my blog. But I am back being positive, but I know that something is lurking out there to take it from me again but now I know how to prepare for it.
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