Member-only story
How To Stay Positive When Things Go Bad
A new approach to navigate through life
Are you tired of hearing the same old clichés when you’re feeling down? “Just think positive!” “Things could be worse!” “Look on the bright side!”
It’s enough to make anyone want to scream. But let’s be real here: when things go bad, it’s hard to stay positive.
If you’re the kind of person who falls apart in tough situations, I want you to know that you’re not alone. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed and stressed out.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it and tell you that everything will magically get better overnight. But I am going to promise you that there’s a way to stay resilient and adaptable, even in the face of adversity. It’s called “positive adaptation,” and it’s a game-changer.
Problems with conventional approaches to staying positive
They force you to accept something that you are not
It’s common advice to “just think positive” or “look on the bright side” when things go wrong. But have you ever tried doing that when you’re really upset? It’s not that easy, is it?
When we’re in a difficult situation, telling ourselves to think positively can feel dismissive of our emotions.
It’s like we’re not allowed to feel sad or angry or frustrated because we’re supposed to be positive all the time. But that’s not how emotions work.
Moreover, studies have shown that forcing ourselves to be positive when we’re not actually feeling that way can actually make us feel worse.
This is because trying to push away negative emotions takes effort and can create tension in the body, making us feel more stressed and unhappy.
They don’t address the root cause of the problem
Sure, you can try to think positively, but if you’re not addressing the actual issue, you’re just putting a band-aid on a larger problem. For example,
