Why can’t I be positive 100% of the time?

Positivity … How can it be so hard?  Do you know someone who is seriously positive ALL the time?  So positive that it seems like they are never having a bad day?  And even tho you hate to admit it, you even tell yourself that it must be fake and that no one can be that positive ALL of the time?!

Guys … we have a problem!

First of all… why not?  Why can’t someone be positive all of the time?  Who cares if they are so positive that you want to barf!  Why does it matter to you?  What does it hurt if they are positive?  Shouldn’t we wish that everyone were positive all of the time?

Imagine traffic if everyone was positive ALL of the time.  I am picturing people rolling down their windows, smiling… listening to music, singing along, and allowing others to change lanes in a civilized manner.  I am imagining people not worrying about how long it was going to take simply because the moment was pleasant and they were having a good day!  What is so wrong with that?  Why can’t we just BE positive?  I asked myself that question this week.

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“Why can’t I simply be positive 100% of the time? If positivity and happiness are a mindset – then shouldn’t I just be able to flip the switch?”

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Being a personal trainer, I often ask myself how I would coach a client if they came to me with the same problem or question.  What would I say to a client who asked me, “Why can’t I just be positive 100% of the time?”

And then… the answer is easy! – Positivity is just like building strength!

• The Overload Principle states that greater than normal stress or load on the body is required for training and adaption to take place.

• Supercompensation Theory states that training can be broken down into four initial periods; initial fitness, training, recovery, and supercompensation.

So by placing a muscle under an increased stress load, paired with adequate recovery, the muscle is forced to adapt, and undergoes supercompensation.  The body responds to the increased load by building more muscle fibers in anticipation for additional increased loads in the future.  Thus resulting in increased overall strength, and a stronger muscle!

Our positivity muscle works in the same way!

First we have the initial stress phase where we are happy, positive, and typically feeling AWESOME!  Next comes the training phase.  Here is where we are challenged.  Staying positive may seem hard, or impossible.  It may feel like everything that could go wrong does… or we might even catch ourselves temporarily slipping back into our old negative ways.

Then comes recovery!  During the recovery process we might actively disengage for our external influences.  Reconnect with our inner self.  Reenergize mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually – in order to regain valuable positive-energy.

Finally we enter supercompensation!  Here is where we gain strength to learn from our challenges and become stronger because of them!  This could involve reflecting on your moments of negativity and trying to identify the negativity triggers.  Were you tired?  Stressed?  Hungry?  Not feeling well?

It could include reflecting on the emotions felt during the training phase.  For example was the negativity induced because you felt bad about yourself, or you wanted someone to love you, help you, or praise you?  Maybe you noticed that your negativity had nothing to do with anyone, or anything… but rather was misdirected at yourself.

Here during the supercompensation phase… anything can happen.  And it doesn’t matter what you find or why you were negative.  What matters is that you learn from it and adapt to better handle the increased stress loads next time around!

So … get flexing those positivity muscles!

The more that you train your positivity muscle, the more often you will find yourself in the initial stress phase.  Happy, positive, and feeling awesome!  And when life happens, hopefully you are able to handle increased stress loads with easier efforts.

As you become stronger and more fit with your positivity muscle… the recovery process will become shorter, as it will take less time for you to get back on track.  And the easier it will be to adapt to your challenges and become even more positive!

Just like an active lifestyle – positive living will continue to require practice, training, and a desire to grow and learn.

So don’t be so harsh on yourself the next time you find yourself slipping back into negativity.  Flex your positivity muscles… and think of it as a positivity training session!

/K