As a positive psychologist and coach, my contacts on social media tend to be with others who have similar points of view. As a result, many of the notifications that I receive in my inbox or on my social media pages tend to be ones that advocate for: staying positive in the face of challenges and adversities; being willing to stay the course when the pursuit of goals goes slowly and doesn’t yield rapid results; and not letting other people’s perceptions determine my value as an individual. Admittedly, I’ve also sent out similar messages myself.
Because I get so many notifications that carry a somewhat similar subject line, it would be easy to ignore them, but I try to read as many as I can before pressing “delete”, and I find some of them to be enlightening enough to save. Not all positive messages are alike.
For one thing, the field of positive psychology is a still emerging one that is strongly rooted in science, which means that some messages yield new and groundbreaking information that I hadn’t been aware of. Another reason why I open positive messages is that we are bombarded with so much negative information in the news – and sometimes at our workplaces and/or in our relationships – that I consider it important enough to embed all the positive information that I can for a sense of balance. I am also well aware of the research that demonstrates a connection between a positive mindset and improved health and achievement.
I acknowledge that hearing a lot of information on the same subject can get boring, but sometimes boring can be reflective of the fact that it’s time to tweak a good habit. An exercise regimen can get boring – but that only means it’s time to change up some of your exercises but not stop exercising. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can get boring – and when it does, it’s a signal to increase the variety of plant-based foods in your diet as opposed to replacing healthy foods with junk.
So, I encourage you to not let positive messages become boring. A good alternative to getting bored by these messages is to do some research in the positivity area; find some new work that’s exciting to you; and tell others about it yourself – either directly or through social media. That’s one of the things that I try to do, and it helps me to almost never get bored by positivity.