Reading this headline, you are probably thinking “Another smarty on the internet who is going to tell me the fact that my life sometimes sucks is actually a good thing.” Yep, that’s me so let me fill you in and share with you a concept which totally transformed the way I see negativity.
When I got into the personal development space and created my motivational blog almost 3 years ago, I thought that I should talk about happiness hacks and possibly some unicorns here and there. But I learned very quickly that this was not my journey and I wouldn’t get under your skin unless I deal with real stuff.
I am one of those people who likes to find the light in the dark, who wants to dig deep down into the dirt and come up with the benefit of it. I love taking my emotional pain and making a freaking rainbow out of it just so I can reap its benefits.
Although I love the motivation and powerful inspirational messages we see and hear on a daily basis, I am tired of this “free lunch” mentality. There is no such a thing as we all need to pay a price. If we truly want to make it all the way without major mental injuries, we first need to understand the benefits of pain, hurt, struggle or any negative emotions and see them as blessings.
Here are 4 ways negativity positively impacts your life:
1. Mental stretching
Mental stretching is complete opposite of “free lunch” mentality which I mentioned earlier. Your inner transformation or “mindset upgrade” won’t happen unless there is some pain or challenge involved. The problem is that we are presented this idea of a quick fix and getting everything in a short period of time. When that doesn’t happen, we get discouraged, quit and stop working on ourselves.
Real, powerful and sustainable growth follows when you decide to face the pain and do something about it. The best way to deal with negative emotions is by asking yourself this simple question: “How can I use it in my favor?” At first, it will piss you off. Then, it will allow you to work with negativity in a powerful way.
“Reality is created by the mind, we can change our reality by changing our mind.” – Plato
2. It keeps your ego grounded
I remember when I sent out my first article to A2S. I was super nervous and totally scared of rejection. To my surprise, the response was positive. This encouraged me to write another one and again they liked it and decided to publish it. So, I didn’t hesitate and sent out the third article.
This time I wasn’t putting all my effort into writing it and it reflected on the outcome. Yep, as you guess, two approved articles made me feel like a superstar and raised my confidence way too high.
In their email, they kindly thanked me for my effort but politely explained that they are going to pass on it at this time. This email sent me right back to the ground and made me realize one of the most important things. In the words of Gary Vaynerchuk, we are never too big.
This rejection, which many of us consider to be a negative experience, gave me a lesson for life and made me understand that we are never too big to learn, to love, to forgive, to be kind and humble at all cost.
3. It makes you understand more
Negativity is probably the best teacher in life. I know, sounds brutal, but think about it this way. Why do some people who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth and given everything in the world fail to “make it happen?” Why do many of them end up in drugs, living promiscuity lives surrounded by problems and toxic relationships?
On the other hand, you have another group who experiences poverty, a tough life, and unimaginable struggles. They thrive in life and produce one success after another. It seems only as a paradox if we don’t understand the power of negativity. Pain breaks ignorance and gives us a better understanding about life, about people’s feelings and the fact that we all go through it. It’s not just you and I, it’s everyone; we all fight.
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” – Sun Tzu
4. Intolerance leads to breakthrough
I bet you’ve had one of those moments when you said, “enough is enough.” It usually happens when something was bothering you or hurting you for too long. It was something you tolerated in spite of a fact that it wasn’t causing you any good.
It happens all the time. We get into the wrong relationships, end up in jobs which drain us and we live it although the dissatisfaction is getting bigger and the pain is getting more intense. All this cultimates in one day simply breaking down.
Suddenly, all those excuses don’t matter anymore. Fear disappears and there is no way that we are going to tolerate this painful lifestyle for one more minute without actually doing something about it. That’s when those positive and giant breakthroughs happen since the current situation becomes intolerable.
Conclusion
Breaking this illusion of a “perfectly positive” life is the first step to own the happiness we seek every day. If we believe The idea of happiness meaning being problem-free brings more pain in the form of disappointment in regards to “how things should be.”
Here is the truth, negativity is the way to positivity. That’s how we get it, that’s how we live it and that’s how we experience it. Do me a favor and look back. Look at your breakthroughs, look at those most powerful moments of your life and your biggest victories. What was the reason that they became your reality?
