Recently, a client asked me, “Isn’t not watching the news and ignoring the problems of our times, fake positivity?”
This question ignited my curiosity, prompting a deep dive into the concept of fake positivity and how we can authentically navigate the challenges of our times.
Fake positivity is acting positive when you feel negative, or when you don’t believe acting positive can counteract the negative news or your feelings about the news. That is, your thoughts, words, and deeds are not aligned. Let’s figure out how we can align them, and why we want to choose thoughts that produce an elevated emotion.
According to David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., emotions span a vast spectrum of frequencies. Hawkins is a pioneer in consciousness research, who studied the subject for thirty years. In his book, Power vs. Force, shame and humiliation are among the lowest frequency emotions at log 20, while enlightenment is between log 700 and log 1000.
His research revealed that just “one individual at the 700 level counterbalances 70 million individuals below the level of 200.” To put it simply, if we want to contribute to raising the consciousness of the planet, by choosing to experience higher frequency emotions such as trust, optimism, love, and joy, not only do we make our lives better, but we also contribute to the collective ripple effect in the world.
Fake positivity is a perception. We cannot control the news and events around us; we can, however, control how we react to them. If we choose a thought such as, “I can make a difference by contributing to a charity to counteract the negativity I perceive,” or “I choose to be the example and live my life with integrity,” and marry those thoughts with emotions such as joy and happiness, we can begin to see our lives shift, and possibly that of those around us. We can start the ripple effect among our immediate circle, first!
When we consciously choose our thoughts, they shape our decisions, and influence our actions, ultimately shaping our experiences and emotions. Wouldn’t we always want to choose thoughts that aligned with creating more joy and happiness in our lives?
Our emotions are our barometer of how we are doing. When our actions are not aligned with our thoughts; when our behaviors don’t match our intentions; it creates disharmony.
So, how do we not pay attention to toxic news? It’s a choice. We choose our reality. We choose how we want to live our lives. We choose how we react.