February Challenge: Be Positive

There's a lot of negativity in the world. We're surrounded by it constantly. The news is constantly telling us all of the bad things going on. Social media is full of attacks directed toward people and ideas. Friends and families are getting into fights about stupid--or important--things. We are constantly being bombarded with all things negative and it drags us down.

While I never intentionally try to be a part of the negative, this February (ie, starting today), my goal is to do the OPPOSITE. I am going to strive to lift the world (at least those I associate with) up with positivity. I plan on sharing love, laughter, and hope wherever I go. I plan to be the smile in the midst of the frowns.

I tried to find the source of this picture and couldn't. Thanks to whoever made it!

 Here are my rules:

1-No negative facebook posts directed at or about other people. Look for the good in them and/or don't write anything at all. Matter of fact, no negative facebook posts period. No complaining, whining, etc. This does not mean writing about things that happen in life isn't allowed, just that the post shouldn't be focused on the negative. This rule applies to what goes on other people's walls or in groups. Apply this to all other forms of social media as well.

2-Don't say negative things about people. Any people. Especially the person in the mirror. That person needs to hear good things too.

3-Compliment 5 people a day--minimum. They have to be genuine, sincere compliments and not said just to check the 5 compliments off the list. Mean them.

4-Do a random act of kindness every day. It doesn't have to be anything big. Just something that will make someone's day brighter.

5-Find a minimum of 10 things to be grateful for every day. Even the little things count.

These are 5 seemingly simple rules are going to be more difficult than they appear, but I'm excited to try this.. My goal is to shift the way I view the world and myself. 28 days from now I hope to be a happier, better person who shows more love to others.

I challenge you all to join me on my quest. It may be hard, but as we search to find the good in the world, our lives will be blessed, and even better, the all those who we interact with will be blessed as well.

Accidents are going to happen. We're going to find ourselves being negative at times. Beating ourselves about it won't help. Just start fresh. Not tomorrow, right then. As the month goes on, there will be less accidents and more good. It's going to be awesome.

I'll try to post in here about my experiences every day. I'm not really good at posting regularly, but I'll make a special effort this month. Feel free to comment/share your experiences as well. This is going to be a great month.