Positivity, Good News Only Thread

The beauty of God's creation is awe-inspiring, transcendent, and beyond our comprehension.

Come_to_me__all_you_who_are_weary_and_burdened__and_I_will_give_you_rest._-_2024-08-27T102913.987.jpg






Longer vid:
 
I’ve noticed that, in this forum, people who are generally positive tend to have at least one of the following traits:
• They believe in God—not just nominally, but by living according to His will and regularly attending church.
• They are married, especially if they have children.
• They have family members, relatives, or even friends who depend on them.
• They work in meaningful roles, such as serving in the military or running their own business.

Conversely, people who are blackpilled or constant complainers usually have at least one of these traits:
• They do not attend church regularly and likely do not fully believe in God.
• They are unmarried, let alone have children.
• They work in jobs they dislike but feel trapped in because they need the income to pay their bills.
• Instead of placing their faith in God, they place it in wealth—millions of dollars, passive income that allows early retirement and never working again, or becoming a crypto big baller.

Personally, I find it interesting how differences in background can lead to such a divide in viewpoints.​
 
Thinking about doing a positivity challenge here on the forum. If there's enough interest we could create another thread...
I'm very open to suggestions, but the main goal is just to become more intentional in focusing on the many positives that are missed on a daily basis because of the overwhelming negativity of our current culture.

Still hashing it out, but rough idea is, however personal or general as you want, (don't dox yourself obviously) but every day just be intentional and post one positive thing from your day in each of the following categories:
- From interacting with someone
- Something you observed/experienced around you
- Action you took towards your personal goals

For example:
- Had an intentional conversation and strengthened a relationship with a family member
- Felt a lovely breeze while observing the backyard
- Added new movement to fitness regime

Thoughts?
 
Northern Pilgrim said:
Thinking about doing a positivity challenge here on the forum. If there's enough interest we could create another thread...
I'm very open to suggestions, but the main goal is just to become more intentional in focusing on the many positives that are missed on a daily basis because of the overwhelming negativity of our current culture.

Still hashing it out, but rough idea is, however personal or general as you want, (don't dox yourself obviously) but every day just be intentional and post one positive thing from your day in each of the following categories:
- From interacting with someone
- Something you observed/experienced around you
- Action you took towards your personal goals

For example:
- Had an intentional conversation and strengthened a relationship with a family member
- Felt a lovely breeze while observing the backyard
- Added new movement to fitness regime

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

First, great idea!

Lets Go Yes GIF by Mochimons


Second, I recommend keeping it within this thread.

Third, I suggest incorporating an externalised behaviour of gratitude (writing/saying thank you to others), along with the core component of internalised reflection (writing/saying to yourself what you're grateful for).


Personally... I will be thankful everytime I see my children smile, play, learn, and move through the world. I know one day I won't experience these simple joys anymore. I know I will look back on these times with fondness. So I will remind myself to be present in every moment with them.

I will also continue to thank my wife every day, throughout each day, for all the things she does for our children and me. I will focus on the good actions she takes. I will remind her that she is appreciated and loved. She will know her daily grind and care is worthwhile and meaningful.


Additional comments on the topic:

Gratitude is essential for sustained subjective wellbeing. It can be consciously practiced to enhance immediate mood and a broader perception of life satisfaction.

Additionally, it has positive flow on effects such as increasing likeability. People want to be around others who are upbeat, resilient, and thankful.

Nicolas Cage 90S GIF


One example study on the matter:

"The efficacy of seven gratitude interventions for promoting subjective well-being"

Positive psychologists regularly use gratitude interventions to study and improve subjective well-being. However, most studies have examined the efficacy of only one or two interventions at a time. Furthermore, existing studies have used disparate dependent measures and control conditions, thwarting efforts to compare the interventions meaningfully. We addressed these concerns with two experiments: an unregistered study with nine conditions and a preregistered study with eleven conditions. The gratitude interventions included intrapersonal interventions (e.g. gratitude lists), interpersonal interventions (e.g. gratitude texts and letters), and gratitude-to-God interventions (e.g. God-focused gratitude lists and letters). Relative to four control conditions, the interventions were broadly effective (albeit some more than others) at increasing positive emotion and reducing negative emotion, though less consistently effective at increasing life satisfaction. Dosage analyses indicated that the interventions’ efficacy at promoting positive affect and reducing negative affect was strongly associated with their efficacy at promoting gratitude.
Click to expand...

This study shows that different approaches can have different effects

1000065177.jpg

Figure 2. Mean self-reported positive affect (PA) for participants in each condition ordered by mean self-reported PA and mean self-reported gratitude with the measurement only condition as the baseline.

Brackets around conditions, separated by a line and asterisks, indicate that all conditions in the first pair brackets are significantly different from all conditions in the second pair of brackets. Conditions within a bracket are not necessarily significantly different from each other. The right y-axis is the effect size (Hedge’s g) of the condition compared to the measurement only condition. Error bars represent ± 1 standard error.
Click to expand...

Explanation for the intructions of each intervention follows:

Condition
(1) Gratitude List (Emmons and McCullough, Citation2003)There are many things in our lives, both large and small, that we might be grateful for. Think back over the past week and write down five things in your life that you are grateful for.
(2) Gratitude Letter (Walsh et al., Citation2022)In our daily lives, we often thank people for both large and small things. However, it can sometimes be difficult to make time to express our gratitude more deeply. Today, we want you to write a letter of gratitude to someone who has done something for which you are extremely grateful. Please do not share your letter with this person or anyone else.
Think of the people – partners, parents, siblings, relatives, friends, neighbors, mentors, and so on – who have been especially generous and thoughtful towards you. For example, you may feel grateful to a parent who has always been there for you, or to a friend who helped you through a hard time.
Now we would like you to pick ONE person who helped you, and write a letter of gratitude to them. However, this letter is really for you to express your thoughts—it is not to convey your gratitude directly to the other person. In fact, we do not want you to share your letter with anyone at all. You will type this letter out on the text box provided.
To give you some ideas of what to write, you could describe the kind act(s) this person did for you and how the kind act(s) affected your life. You could also describe what you are doing now and how you often remember their efforts.
(3) Gratitude Text (Walsh et al., Citation2022)In our daily lives, we often thank people for both large and small things. However, it can sometimes be difficult to make time to express our gratitude more deeply. Today, we want you to use your smartphone to text someone who has done something for which you are extremely grateful, and thank them for their kind act(s).
Think of the people – partners, parents, siblings, relatives, friends, neighbors, mentors, and so on – who have been especially generous and thoughtful towards you. For example, you may feel grateful to a parent who has always been there for you, or to a friend who helped you through a hard time.
Now we would like you to pick ONE person who helped you, and text them to share your gratitude. Please text ONLY the person who helped you directly via a private message. That is, we do not want you to text that person in a group message where other people can see it.
Please type the text in the textbox provided. To give you some ideas of what to say, you could describe the kind act(s) this person did for you and how the kind act(s) affected your life. You could also describe what you are doing now and how you often remember their efforts.
(4) Naikan Gratitude List (Chan, Citation2010)There are many things, both large and small, that happen to you every week. Think back over the past week and write down up to three things you are grateful or thankful for. Think about why these good things happen to you.
Specifically, reflect on each of the three good things by asking yourself three questions. What did I receive? What did I give? What more could I do? Stay with the feeling of appreciation and gratitude.
(5) Mental Subtraction Task (Caleon et al., Citation2017; Koo et al., Citation2008)There are many things in our lives, both large and small, that we might be grateful for. Think back over the past day and write down five things in your life that you are grateful or thankful for.
Next, please choose one of the entries you have written above and describe how your life would be like if that particular moment or person was not present in your life.
(6) Gratitude to God List (Tsang et al., Citation2023)*We are interested in people’s experiences of gratitude toward God. Please write down anything for which you are grateful or thankful to God for giving you. You may list as many or as few things as you would like.
(7) Gratitude to God Letter (Tsang et al., Citation2023)*Many people are grateful to God, a higher power, or some type of spiritual being for giving them gifts. Think about how God, a higher power, or some type of spiritual being has benefited you. List how you refer to this entity here and indicate how you would best describe them. Please write a letter to this entity, thanking them for all the ways they have benefited you.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top