On Being Positive: Escape Reality or Face Reality?

Do you sometimes feel stuck, uncomfortable, in a situation where you just want to hit an imaginary ESC key… or better yet, CTRL+ALT+DELETE  and Calgon Take Me Away? I do. One of the biggest misconceptions of being POSITIVE is that you are ALL smiles ALL the time and that you are an OPTIMIST, you know, because “you don’t face REALITY.”

What is the answer on being positive: ESCape reality or FACE reality?

We all struggle. I get upset, I get sad, I get disappointed, I cry, I have crazy thoughts. I admit I do smile a lot, and I also know pain, hardship, setbacks, obstacles, and even tragedy quite intimately, too. Let’s be honest here, and let’s quote Maroon 5 while we’re at it: “it’s not always rainbows and butterflies…” The thing is, you don’t drown from falling into water, but from staying there. It’s easier said than done, yet possible and highly effective.

A few weeks ago, while paddling in a rough stream of tears and looking for the not-so-obvious lesson, I entertained “escaping” as an option – as in “running away.” The thought helped me recognize unhealthy behaviors used to escape reality: drugs, pornography, prostitution, legal drugs like cigarettes, alcohol, coffee and unnecessary medication, over-eating junk foods, watching reality TV, playing video games, shopping excessively, online alter-egos to hide true identity, and ultimately, “escaping” through ending life! [Any form of addiction is slavery, the ultimate epitome of disempowerment.]

In contrast, I distinguished healthy ways to disconnect [not everything is a novela]: contribution, creativity, dreaming, conversation, meditation, reading, praying, writing, exercise, and going to “your happy place” are just a few. Good practices, I decided, yet not a source of LASTING happiness.

Navigating through those thoughts enlightened me: you CAN be happy knowing the glass is half full, while acknowledging it is also half empty. Both “realities” are true, and no amount of escaping [or Calgon lol] will take that away.

3 Steps To Staying Positive While Facing Reality

1. Perspective + Potential + Personal Responsibility ~ What most helps me, is to keep a holistic wide [eternal] perspective, and to understand the part I played in creating or allowing what is happening. We can reevaluate the potential good that can come from a situation when we add a bit of consciousness and empowerment to the mix.
2. Pondering your CHOICE and Protecting your Passions ~ We always have a choice: keep it or leave it, stay or move on. This has always been the trickiest part for me…but thankfully, I have a formula that helps: every time you have a decision to make, you must choose in favor of your passions. And when I do, it pays off.
3. Pursuing Peace ~ Instead of looking for an escape or to change circumstances that are out of your control, I wholeheartedly believe the best question to ask yourself is “what CAN I DO right now that will give me peace?”

If you are feeling worn-out, fed-up, or just sick and tired, just know it happens to everyone, the smiley ones included. The answer lies in doing what brings you peace… and… in this quote:

“There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.” ~ Desiderius Erasmus

Look WITHIN, discover your deepest passions and desires, decide to be BRAVE enough to become a conscious creator of your own reality, and Live Happily Ever After with the Person You Turned Out to Be and the Person You Are Becoming. It starts with your mind, your inner world, your beliefs [Romans 12:2].

Listen to the call of your soul and do what it tells you to. Don’t escape. Face life, face reality… and be positive anyway!

[ela]