It is rightly said that, “Positivity is like a boomerang, the more we put it out there, the more it comes back to us”.
Relation between happiness, positive emotions and overall human wellbeing have been subjects of study since time immemorial. Researchers say that, Whatever picture we hold in mind, our brain translates that into complementary chemistry in our body. If we hold a picture of love, our brain releases wonderful things into the blood like Dopamine for pleasure, Oxytocin to bond with others, Growth Hormone which enhances our vitality. So, when people are in love, they look healthy and have that glow. Thus, there is this chemistry of blood engaging the behavior of cells. What if we hold a picture of something that scares us? Well, our system gets flooded with negative chemistry. Stress hormones get released which would affect our immune system and would literally change the genetic activity of our cells.
Feeling happier and healthier holds true whether we happen to be the one exhibiting positivity, or the one receiving it. The work of Barbara Fredrickson provides the evidence of how wonderfully our life can get altered by eliciting more positive emotions. There are two key outcomes:
- Firstly, positive emotions enable us to broaden our thinking and creativity.
- Secondly, they enable us to build psychologically meaningful skills and resources that contribute to our overall wellbeing and resilience.
So, isn’t it true that, ‘if you are happy, you must be louder’. There is so much anxiety in the system because the small percentage of people who are angry and hurt are so exceedingly louder. We must change the communication game and be a bigger person. Roar out your positivity. If you are a human being, lucky enough to have even small little blessings and happiness in your lives, give it back to the people you meet. It is your social responsibility to get louder about it.
The idea of ‘Making the world a better place’ always seemed overwhelming to me and led me to think ‘how do I take some massive and radical step’ to do something meaningful for the society. But, why wait to do something major? Before we become mover and shaker of the world, can we just get louder to share our positive story and ditch the worry story. Be it, complimenting or appreciating someone to bring a smile on their face or sharing some empowering experience to motivate someone. What ways do you infuse positivity in your surroundings? It would be so inspiring and exciting to know!!!!
Know what sparks the light in you. Then use that light to illuminate the world
Oprah Winfrey