Say No to Negativity

External or Internal

I have a friend. I like him a lot. 
But every time we see each other.
He can’t help himself.
“Did you see this? Did you hear about this?”
Media-fed, he’s become a relay antenna. 
He is the messenger of this world’s troubles.
“No, I haven’t heard because I don’t watch the media. 
I don’t have a TV. I don’t even read newspapers.”
To which he always replies : “HOW?”
Tired of explaining over and over again. 
I settle for, “I’m like that.”

I have this other friend. The words inflation, war, trouble never leave his mouth. Another TV fanatic ? But he’s not. He wanders on Internet. Every discussion with him is a reminder that the world is going to the dogs. Everything’s going to fall apart. 
I have a fault: I’m direct. I’ve told him that I can’t stand birds of ill omen. If he comes to see me, optimism or we can’t talk.

“But how can you be insensitive to all these problems?”
I’m not insensitive, I see the suffering around us. The difficulties, the challenges. I feel it, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve made a conscious choice to focus only on what I have the power to change.
My indignation and anger don’t have the power to change things. My actions can. I focus on what I can do, not on what I’ll never be able to do.

These two friends are locked in an information loop that feeds on itself. They fail to understand that they are a victim of a great war for attention. 
Algorithms work in such a way that once you start consuming content, similar content is recommended. When you start consuming negativity, you enter the loop. If you think one way, it will feed your confirmation bias.

Sellers of bad news have no interest in changing their content. If you clicked because negativity attracted you. You’ve proven to them that negativity interests you. They have no reason to sell you anything else. Their content will continue to be built around this theme. It’s on you.

I don’t criticize my friends, because I too am a victim of a loop. All my feeds, whatever the social network, are a mix of personal development and inspiring content. I take great care to remove any kind of negativity from my feed. With today’s system of algorithms, we’re all stuck in loops: we can just choose which ones.

There are dynamics in energies. 
The energy of pessimism is a defensive energy, of withdrawal, of fear, of lack of hope. 
The energy of optimism is one of growth, abundance, hope and change. 
Every day, we can choose which type of energy to bathe in.

Finally, I have this other friend. I used to tell him about my future projects. But often the same answers: “That sounds dangerous. Are you sure?” 
I was naive. I thought that by sharing my goals, I’d get support. What I got was doubt. He had managed to turn my positive energy into hesitation. With experience, I’ve come to understand that this negativity hides itself in many ways.

In what surrounds us, in others and sometimes… at the roots of our being. This evil is surely the most profound. The hardest to cure.

That little voice you hear when you’re thinking can also be a source of negativity. Probably the worst fountain of negativity, since it comes from within. We confuse it with ourselves. The one that says, “You should do that. You shouldn’t do that”. 

It took me a long time to realize that this little voice isn’t me. It’s sometimes loaded with negativity: “You can’t do that. You’ll never be able to do it. Don’t even try.” When these thoughts come, I hunt them away. They aren’t allowed in my kingdom. 

When they attack, i recognize them, i breathe and repeat “You’re not me. You don’t know what I’m capable of. You’re doubts, i’m action. You’re fear, I’m courage. You’re weak, I’m strong. I won’t listen to you. Today or tomorrow. Get out. You have no power here.”

You’re not your thoughts. Your thoughts are a mixture of reactions dictated by your brain. A mix of positivity and negativity that shifts poles depending on the day and your mood.

Your thoughts tell you that you’re hungry. You are the one who chooses to eat healthily or something higher in calories.

You need to train.
Your thoughts will oscillate between I have to and I’m too tired today. 
You’re the one who chooses to do it despite the resistance.

You are not your thoughts, you are the master. 
The one who chooses to follow them or fight them.

We are the product of our environment. We have to be careful what we let into our realms. So choose, but choose wisely. Your life depends on it.