Let Go

I started writing The Positivity Papers in January 2018 as a vehicle to communicate principles and practices for experiencing more joy in life in a way that's accurate, accessible, and actionable.

Think of it as a series of apologetics outlining the value of positivity that's one part literature review, one part commentary, and whole part empowering.

The most recent edition of The Positivity Papers was written for inclusion in Volume Two of the print edition of this series, and you don't even have to wait for the book to arrive. You can check it out right now at the link attached to this update.

I personally feel that this is one of the most important pieces that I've written, but that may just be my own bias due to my personal experiences.

Letting go of expectations, letting go of what we once had, letting go of an old dream or talent or purpose or way of life that is no longer serving us is a something that took me twelve years to master, and it's still a work in progress that I'm continually honing every day.

Today Facebook sent me a notification of a status updated that I wrote ten years ago today. It read:

"No one ever said that life would be fair, only that it would suck."

There were those who tried to talk sense into me at the time, that it would all be worth it in the end, but I wanted to hear none of it because at that time my reality was so locked into the old narrative what life should have been, what I had but no longer had, and of what I so desperately wanted to get back. The truth is, sometimes life does suck. Part of positive thinking requires taking an honest look at the situation, and sometimes the feedback says that life isn't going very well right now. The trick is not to ignore this truth, but it is also not to let the "suckyness" of the situation overwhelm us.

Some parts of life do suck. But many parts don't. What can we learn about what's going right, and how can we apply it to what's wrong to balance the scales? In a similar way, what can we learn about what's wrong to be better prepared for the future? And what can we do starting right now to make for a better tomorrow?

I hope you choose to invest 5 minutes to read this piece, and then I hope you choose to let me know what you think.

Stay Positive, my Friend!

— Jonas

#POSITIVITY