Being Positive

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Holly3278

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Hey everyone. I read so much about how being an optimist or being a positive person can make you happier. However, is this really a good thing? Shouldn’t we be realists?
 
Luigi_Daniele said:
Don’t know if we “should”, but I am 🙂
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Ah okay. I am really considering trying to be more positive in my daily life but I just want to make sure that I am not doing something God wouldn’t want me to do.
 
I know what you mean.

Myself, I tend to go from optimism to realistic in a matter of 10 seconds…but generally I’m just happy and contented. Contented, rather than optimistic. But I don’t see anything wrong with being optimistic at all – like Luigi Daniele said, Jesus has already won!
 
LoyalViews said:
I know what you mean.

Myself, I tend to go from optimism to realistic in a matter of 10 seconds…but generally I’m just happy and contented. Contented, rather than optimistic. But I don’t see anything wrong with being optimistic at all – like Luigi Daniele said, Jesus has already won!
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Thanks for sympathizing with me. I appreciate it.
 
Holly3278 said:
Hey everyone. I read so much about how being an optimist or being a positive person can make you happier. However, is this really a good thing? Shouldn’t we be realists?
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Holly… the difference between an optimist and a pessimist is that an optimist looks at what he has and takes joy in it, and chooses to be happy, regardless of the circumstances. Now tell me, what in the world could God possibly find wrong with this attitude?
 
CompSciGuy said:
Holly… the difference between an optimist and a pessimist is that an optimist looks at what he has and takes joy in it, and chooses to be happy, regardless of the circumstances. Now tell me, what in the world could God possibly find wrong with this attitude?
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Nothing as far as I am aware. I was a little weary of it because some “positive” pages on Facebook promote New Age theology and such.
 
Holly3278 said:
Hey everyone. I read so much about how being an optimist or being a positive person can make you happier. However, is this really a good thing? Shouldn’t we be realists?
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Can you explain why being positive is not being real? There is nothing unreal about having a positive attitude, demeanor or outlook in life. However, being negative all the time gets old fast 😉
 
Holly,

Being positive is a good thing, but there are different viewpoints of what that means, and I disagree with some, as you do too.

Being positive as a Christian means trust. You plan for the future but you don’t worry about the future nor fret if the plans have to change. You live in the here and now, not brooding over what is or what was, and looking toward the next step to take.

Being “in the kingdom” is the big prize the Lord has seen fit to give me. It is a way of looking at things where I am in constant joy and peace, even while doing stuff I don’t like – because I’m so happy to be that it doesn’t matter what I’m doing or what condition other things are in.

When Jesus said He gives us His peace, not as the world gives, note the world can only give you peace by temporarily giving you pleasant conditions. So it is by definition temporary and conditional. The peace of Christ is eternal and unconditional, and will stay with you through all of life’s storms.

So being positive doesn’t mean to go around saying things are good when they are not, or putting on blinders. It just means not to let your emotions be subject to conditions that may make you very sad. Like the Rolling Stones said, “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need.” So it isn’t about getting what you want that makes you positive; it’s about loving life to the extent that you like what you have.

Alan
 
Holly3278 said:
Nothing as far as I am aware. I was a little weary of it because some “positive” pages on Facebook promote New Age theology and such.
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Optimism doesn’t automatically equate itself with New Age. It was around a lot longer than New Age was.
 
Rence said:
Can you explain why being positive is not being real? There is nothing unreal about having a positive attitude, demeanor or outlook in life. However, being negative all the time gets old fast 😉
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👍

How to be happy:
  1. Act happy.
  2. Stop acting like a drama queen
  3. Whatever you are suffering with, others who are suffering with far worse problems are much happier than you are. Think about that. Again, and again.
There. That simple.

Also, if you act sad and mopey all the time, sure, people MAY treat you with kid gloves, but offline, they are laughing at you as well.

And finally, it’s an insult to God to be mopey, angry, and depressed all the time. You will not be able to share your faith you will come across as a loser.

There. 👍
 
Owlpride said:
👍

How to be happy:
  1. Act happy.
  2. Stop acting like a drama queen
  3. Whatever you are suffering with, others who are suffering with far worse problems are much happier than you are. Think about that. Again, and again.
There. That simple.

Also, if you act sad and mopey all the time, sure, people MAY treat you with kid gloves, but offline, they are laughing at you as well.

And finally, it’s an insult to God to be mopey, angry, and depressed all the time. You will not be able to share your faith you will come across as a loser.

There. 👍
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Listen to this one.
Also remember that happiness is a choice. Attitude is something that can be chosen in any circumstance. This is my philosophy in life. 🙂 It took me a long time to figure it out.
Anyone who thinks “if only I had X, Y, or Z, I would be happy” will never be happy.
 
CompSciGuy said:
Listen to this one.
Also remember that happiness is a choice. Attitude is something that can be chosen in any circumstance. This is my philosophy in life. 🙂 It took me a long time to figure it out.
Anyone who thinks “if only I had X, Y, or Z, I would be happy” will never be happy.
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You are so right on this. If I am not happy in current circumstance, it is my mindset, not the circumstance, that needs to be fixed. If I’m not happy now, giving me nice things isn’t going to make a real difference.

Alan
 
AlanFromWichita is spot on! One person in particular in my life tells me all the time: “You’re just in a fairy tale world…you don’t understand the seriousness of this situation (whatever it may be).” I try to tell this person I DO understand…but I’m not worried because it’s in God’s hands and will be worked out in HIS time! Also, and this takes a lot of prayer, the key is to remember that no matter what happens to us in this life, we can look forward to being with God in the NEXT life. This enables us to obey the Lord knowing NOTHING on this Earth could be worth disobeying Him.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice. My problem is that I have both Major Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder. Well, the Borderline Personality Disorder causes my mood to fluctuate a lot. Sometimes it fluctuates pretty rapidly. I have trouble staying happy all the time and I get depressed very easily. I am on anti-depressants but lately they just don’t seem to be helping as much as they should.
 
Holly3278 said:
Thanks everyone for the advice. My problem is that I have both Major Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder. Well, the Borderline Personality Disorder causes my mood to fluctuate a lot. Sometimes it fluctuates pretty rapidly. I have trouble staying happy all the time and I get depressed very easily. I am on anti-depressants but lately they just don’t seem to be helping as much as they should.
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I understand what you’re going through. It is a difficult thing, because with depression it is like being in a slump. It’s probably going to take more than just positive thinking, you have to positive have reinforcements. Hopefully you are in therapy? Find the root cause and figure out how to best face and overcome the issues that are creating the depressed mood.
 
CompSciGuy said:
Listen to this one.
QUOTE]

Thank man. That’s really nice of you to say.

OP-It’s very, very simple. Are you treating your medical issues as an excuse to be unhappy? Again, are you aware how lucky you are? You have a access to a computer, food, water, and shelter. Your better off than so many other people

Depression is like cancer. Are you even bothering to fight it, or are you just using it as an excuse to be miserable?

Look, it’s nothing personal. I don’t know you. It’s not tough love, but maybe you’ve never heard anyone say this before- if you act like a drama queen blaming everything on mental issues, your going to stay miserable. If you CHOOSE to be happy, you’ll get there.
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