Understanding Positivity:
Although I don’t consider myself a positive person, I do consider myself a realist. I see the world in a logical manner. My judgment is fair; it’s not based on what I feel or personally think. But sometimes being a realist can be associated with being a skeptic and, therefore, may even be perceived as negative.
A teacher once conveyed that being a realist doesn’t mean being positive, but understanding how thinking impacts reality, and one has to change one’s thinking in order to change what they perceive.
Mindfulness and Letting Go:
The problem is that most people don’t understand how their mind works. In mindfulness, you come to learn that with practice, thoughts come and go, and as long as one doesn’t cling to them, they will disappear and come again. The better you get at not clinging, the less impact it will have on you.
It’s an ongoing practice of letting go. One has to let go in order to be free – free of one’s own thinking. It’s not an easy practice. One cannot understand this reality in theory; one has to experience it to truly understand.
Religious Perspective on Positivity:
In Islam, we say we are influenced by entities we cannot perceive, who are always whispering and suggesting evil ideas into our hearts and minds.
This is our way of thinking about life, and we say God has commanded us to beware of this entity that exists, and how it’s always trying to take us down a dark path.
Scientific Insights into Positivity:
Scientifically, it is said that everything comes from the unconscious mind, and the depth of the unconscious mind is so vast that you can never actually know the mechanics of yourself. It’s too complex.
Again, it’s the same thing, really, but instead of saying it comes from the outside, science says it comes from the inside. Like the animalistic aspects of yourself, or the devil that resides in you.
So it doesn’t matter if you come from a religious perspective or a scientific perspective. Either way, you’ll end up in the same place.
How to Become Positive:
From a religious perspective, you can start praying and remembering God. This, in itself, is the cure for everything in life. You will become a very positive person. You can start fasting also; this will make you more appreciative and grateful. I love watching lectures and listening to the Quran being recited. Both of these can be great for thinking deeply about things.
Just for clarification, spiritual practices don’t necessarily mean you’ll attain closeness with God, but they can most definitely improve your life in many ways.
From a religious and non-religious perspective, you can practice positive self-talk and affirmations. This can be helpful to change how you think about things. It’s better to be alone than with negative people, but it’s even better to be in good company. Positive friends will lead to better outcomes. You are the average of the five closest people to you. So it’s okay to judge your closest friends and determine if they are good for you.
