Can We Always Be Positive?

I love lists.
 I make one out every night about what I need to accomplish the next day.
 They keep me organized.

What a list can’t do is keep me positive.
I can write a quote on my list.
 I can search for a new positive quote on Google.
 I can post it on my mirror and on my computer; even carry it in my wallet.
 I am tagged “Sparkle Plenty” by my sisters.
 Most of my friends and family would classify me as positive.
Most of them think it comes easily.

Not so.
 Positivity is hard work. Frustrating work. Often difficult work.
 And what is the definition of work? 
There are two definitions that explain what work is when it comes to positivity.

#1 “Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.
#2“A task or tasks to be undertaken, something a person or thing has to do.”

Effort, tasks that have to be done or undertaken=work. Positivity=work.

So when you see a person that is almost always positive, do they work harder than those who are negative? I think they do. A lot harder.
Do they wake up in the morning positive every single day? I doubt it. They wake up and start the work or task necessary to be positive.

Today I am having a hard time being positive. I usually don’t share this. It’s not the way I want people to see me. I like being “sparkly plenty.” But some days it’s really hard, like today. Negativity seems to envelop me at times. Circumstances I can’t control. Issues I can’t solve. I guess it’s just life and health in general.

So what do I do? I just get through the day and know tomorrow will be better. I will write that quote on my to-do list tonight. I will post something positive on Facebook or Twitter. I will put myself to sleep tonight saying tomorrow is a new day.

And what if tomorrow isn’t better? I will remind myself that the following day will be, because I will WORK to make it so.
 Angry JA moms who say I am too positive have attacked me saying I don’t show the negative, ugly and painful side of arthritis. I take this as a compliment; it means my work at being positive is working.

I have never been afraid of hard work. But I am terrified by negativity. So to answer the question, “Can we always be positive?” The answer is no, but we can always work towards that goal. And as my mom always used to say, “Hard work won’t kill you.”

In the case of positivity, it just might make you better.

Originally posted on Christine Schwab.