There have always been naysayers, doom-and-gloom people, always negative, nothing-ever-right: “The world is going to hell in a hand basket,” the wheel will be the downfall of civilization, the devil is in charge and we aren’t, the glass is half empty, etc.

If we had listened to these people at any stage of our development from the beginnings of civilization, there would have been no civilization or countries or societies.There was a very old cartoon in the fifties, black & white, primitive animation, that said over and over “I’m happy when I’m sad, I’m always feeling bad.”  If we had taken this as truth at the time, those of us who saw it over and over might have become the negative personalities that we see and hear even now.

Nothing is perfect, but negativity is destructive.  It stunts our growth and has the ability to rot our brains.  Negativity is an anchor that abhors progress.  It fears the striving for perfection, and the upward climb toward the betterment of anything.  Negativity is death both personally and as a society.  We have many leaders in different aspects of our own society whose outlooks are primarily negative, and we need to have the will and the strength to replace them with forward thinkers.  Left in place for too long they can do lasting damage to our way of life and our system of education, and our system of education is the foundation of our society, and any society. When negativity is in charge, nothing can be accomplished.  Nothing can move ahead. Nothing that has any value can even be initiated because negativity obstructs and inhibits and must strive to have everyone think the same way.  The more the same we are, the more negativity feels a sense of accomplishment.  Everyone and everything must be pulled down to the same common denominator.  Think for a moment of the lasting effects of such an agenda.

The bright side of all of the above is that we have a choice in every instance.  We can choose dark or light, life or death, positive or negative, up or down, progress or stagnation even though the dominant thinking is the reverse.  We always have a choice.

In our present society, making a choice can become a challenge.  It may seem that at every turn we are faced with negativity.  Most of our media: newspapers, magazines, social media, chat rooms, television, movies, etc., are filled with either social negativity or a negative agenda that takes over our minds while watching or listening or reading.  So the challenge becomes sifting through these so that we don’t become infected with a negativity virus that can cloud our thinking.  This is definitely challenging. But if we are to keep some semblance of our sanity, it is a necessary challenge and definitely worth the effort.  Clear thinking involves going against the mass of information we are faced with at every turn like a salmon swimming upstream.  But the reward for a positive person is peace of mind and knowing that we are supported by other like-minded people from every age in history.

Everything that has worth involves a challenge:  Invention, innovation, creative writing, composing music, art, research of all kinds, any aspect of leadership, and anything for the betterment of society. All are challenging but not always rewarding.  There are no guarantees except self-satisfaction.  Knowing that we have done our best work in reaching our personal goals which are the challenges that we have set and achieved.  Even more satisfying is finding other like-minded individuals who are facing their own challenges or have achieved some success in their endeavors.  Positive thinking in itself has become a challenge. But we embrace it.  It is what we live for and the reason that we exist.  Conflict and resolution are the essence of the arts and of life itself.  Let us challenge ourselves daily throughout our lives.