We’ve learned that negativity can be genetic. We’ve also learned that environment plays a big role in how negative someone might be. Ultimately, despite your personality and how you were raised, consistent negativity is a choice.
It’s one thing to have a bad day. We all have them. It’s also common to go through seasons of life when you feel low and disgruntled. It’s entirely another when you walk through life day in and day out under a dark cloud of negativity. Being chronically negative is not normal and creates the risk of
- Alienating your friends and family
- Preventing advancement in your career
- Shortening your lifespan
Sadly, many people become negative from the inside out and suffer the consequences of their negative thoughts, feelings and actions.
Everyone suffers from bad things happening. Negativity can be the outcome of living through a trauma or a series of events that cause pain and sadness. It’s normal to react negatively to bad situations, but it’s not normal to stay stuck long after situations resolve themselves.
Every situation has something positive. Even when you can’t see it in the moment, time often offers nuggets of wisdom or a degree of hope even in the darkest periods of life. Choosing to see them is what positivity and optimism is all about. Choosing to stay stuck or only see the negative is, in fact, in your control. If you find that you tend to lean into the negative, it’s important to get to the root of it and heal what’s keeping you negative otherwise you may lose friends, opportunities, and your health!
Negativity ruins relationships- Being negative can wear people out. Focusing on what’s wrong, nitpicking others, being critical or even “keeping it real” can erode relationships and make people want to avoid you. Over time, healthy people simply gravitate to positive people. Unhealthy people love to commiserate and dwell on bad things. This is evident by gossip, jealousy, and being routinely at odds with other people.
Negativity ruins opportunities- You may be very good at what you do, but if you don’t have a positive personality, your talents may go unnoticed or wasted. Whether you lose customers as an entrepreneur or fail to promote in your organization, negativity could be playing a role.
Negativity ruins your health- Chronic negativity could kill you. That’s because being in a negative state of mind can trigger hormones that raise blood pressure, rattle your nervous system, and can lead to stroke or heart attacks.
You may have thought that negativity is a personality trait that can’t be helped. Sort of like being left-handed. The truth is negativity is a choice. Long-term negative viewpoints are detrimental in many ways. It’s time to find a new choice and start to develop a more positive mindset.
