The Olympics have just ended. We got to see the best of the best athletes didn’t we? Do you know that being around the best of the best of any sort often leads us to want to discover the best in us? We call that the elevation effect or some would say the positive ripple effect.
And yet typically in the news and in social media are we hearing the best of the best? More like the worst of the worst. Too much of the worst of the worst can have the opposite of the elevation effect. I like to call this the deflation effect. Wouldn’t we have a better perspective of the world if we saw more of its strengths? I am not talking about ignoring that which is challenging in our world and walking each day in blind optimism, but balancing our walk with the reality of good in the world.
How can we do this? Professor Lea Waters, president elect of the International Positive Psychology Association, suggests we all become positive detectives. She recommends we look for the moral excellence around us and not keep it to ourselves but share it with others. In this way we become messengers of hope for others.
Be a part of the elevation effect…not the deflation effect.
But be prepared because being positive takes courage… for being positive can actually bring out hostility in others who have become accustomed to their dreary days. Being positive is counter cultural.
Be a part of the elevation effect…not the deflation effect.
“You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.” Joyce Meyer
Ashley says:
So true! It seems much easier for most to quickly point out the negative rather than take the time to find the positive in a situation. I’ve been guilty of it myself.