Arushi Naidu - Week 9: Power in Positivity through Adversity
As a young student, I was surrounded by impactful mentors who I looked up to every single \day of my life. My parents, my teachers, my piano instructor, older family friends…my early years were filled with role models who I aspired to emulate. Now, as I reflect on the qualities of leadership and people in my life that I consider to be powerful, I often find myself wondering why I continue to admire these individuals. It is not only because of their success and their drive to achieve passion and purpose in their day-to-day lives but it has mostly been because of their commitment to spread positivity and wisdom.
No matter how badly I practice, my piano teacher has always taught me with unwavering patience and encouragement. It is through her actions that I am able to see the passion that drives her and the life that she has built for herself, and there is immense power in that.
My parents both work daunting corporate positions (as I’m sure many of your parents do), which is no walk in the park. Back to back meetings, growing to-do lists, neverending assignments, pressure from superior all on top of the challenge known as parenthood. It is honestly sometimes difficult to comprehend the stress levels that our parents go through regardless of where they work. No matter how daunting a day, my parents have found a way to show up for me in some way, somehow always being able to attentively listen to detailed reviews of my days and sharing their own advice with me.
There is power in mustering a smile on a strenuous day. There is power in taking a moment to appreciate nature’s beauties or taking in a breath of fresh air to let go of the week’s worries. There is power in showing up for your loved ones even through personal adversity. And I feel so lucky that I have grown up with individuals who demonstrate such power every single day. Their positivity has shown me how much weight resilience and kindness through hardship carries.
(https://nchschant.com/10523/showcase/the-power-of-positivity/)
I agree with your point to a certain extent. I too try to stay positive because it keeps me motivated and helps me appear more likable. However, I’ve also realized that positivity can make me complacent. If I’m in a bad situation, I can’t always think “this is fine” and look on the bright side. Instead, I should be thinking “this is terrible” and start working to fix it. I can’t always be positive 24/7, otherwise I’ll end up internalizing my emotions - which will be harmful in the end.
ReplyDeleteThat’s not to say that I don’t like positivity. Rather, I think that positivity should be tempered with pessimism and realism. Thinking positively about the present helps me appreciate the present, but thinking pessimistically makes me desire change and growth. In a similar way, thinking positively about the future helps me stay motivated and keep going, while thinking pessimistically about the future helps me prepare for the worst and appreciate the present.
Arushi, do you ever feel pessimistic or cynical about everything? From my memories of you in the play and in class last semester, you’ve always been really positive. I can’t really remember an instance when you seemed sad or depressed. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a good thing, but I’m kind of curious.
Hi Arushi, your blog is quite insightful! Positivity is something that everybody needs in their life, even if you have no work to do or going through some of the hardest obstacles; positivity will make things better a lot of the time, and I really like how you demonstrated that within your post. Your experiences thoroughly show how positivity has affected your life greatly, and encourages me to practice it more myself. Like many other students, real positivity for me is something hard to get by. With all of our daunting assignments and future endeavors closely catching up to us, it's hard to truly stay present in the moment and stop to smell the flower sometimes. However, I love how you share how your family and other mentors around you have helped you to practice positivity, and I see it as a lesson in my life as well to spread positivity even with obstacles that you might think you can't get out of. Although positivity is something highly encouraged in society, it is still something that I struggle with, and this blog helps to showcase the importance of this value. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHey Arushi, this idea is so important for all of us. The opening line for my poem at the beginning of the year revolved around the importance and contagiousness of a smile. Smiling has proven time and time again, both scientifically and from my own experience, to be the best medicine to sadness, pain, or just about anything bad. Sometimes, a smile from someone else is all you need to lift your spirits just a little, and sometimes a smile from you is all that some else needs to raise their spirits just a little. That just a little of raising of spirits is actually so much, it can make people's days and sometimes have even more drastic, potentially lifesaving effects. The power of a smile, through thick and thin, is something that has become a way of life for me, and something I myself have experienced so many times to the point where it is one of my values.
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