I’m not a positive person by nature.

During the 2008 financial crash, I went down a pretty big rabbit hole with peak oil and monetary crashes and a host of other things. As I watch our country move over 28 trillion dollars in debt (for a physical idea of what a trillion dollars looks like, click here) it worries me for what could happen if we cannot make a payment. Historical models are not pretty if something would happen.

#yikes

Yes, it’s safe to being positive is a struggle most days. So, I’ve tried something.

#weed

No!! Nothing medical, nothing perscribed, nothing at all like that. I get up in the morning, log into social media (FB and two Twitter streams) and post a positive comment. Nothing earth shattering, nothing profound, but just something to help me keep things going forward right off the bat.

Something surprising happened. People noticed.

“Thanks for the positive notes.”

“I appreciate you posting these every day.”

And my wife: “Seriously??”

#sheknowsmetoowell

And why not? As you watch the news, we get very little positive. As we jump onto social media, the positives are few and far between. I love TikTok, but if I want to see something positive, I really need to seek it out.

Why?

Why can’t we see the good in people? The good in ourselves? The good in our communities?

I don’t have an answer, sorry. I just pose the questions! You as the reader, you are my sounding board.

As it is, I feel more positive in a the face of the sh*t show that is Covid. I feel better even though I know that my Iowa legislators voted to make it illegal for my school to have a mask mandate. I feel better knowing that these are being noticed and that people are taking them to heart. Sometimes, we get so carried away with EVERYTHING (there’s no one thing that just jumps out), that we forget about ourselves and that we are freaking incredible. We do amazing things every single day, yet, the things that bring us down are the voices in our head.

So, if I can help someone have a little better day, outstanding. If I can help someone realize that they CAN do it, sweet! If I can remind someone they have the power, the voice, and the stamina to move forward, that’s what I want each day.

As you get going, remind yourself that you’ve got the choice everyday to come out positive. Like I wrote, somedays it just won’t happen, and that’s ok too.

This one got a little wordy, but I love that people notice these things and that they are helping out.

And as we close in on the beginning of the school year, I’ll remind my students that their choices, their attitude is a choice. A choice that’s always difficult to make, but yet makes such a profound impact on their day and their future.

And if a grumpy old teacher can find is positive mojo, they can too!

Because, with a little encouragement, we can all make good choices.

Am I right? 🙂

#youneedtostop :