We live in a society where we push the thoughts of positivity around a lot.We are taught to be positive and happy all the time even in our darkest days.Social media also plays a massive part in this repetitive behavior as well and that is why you see all these positive thoughts and quotes being thrown around all the time.To a point that is fine as these quotes can be very inspiring but I guess there is a point when it can be a little too much.Why should I care about some random positive quotes when I am completely fine and in a stable mood?Maybe some times they give me a boost but seeing them all the time is rather irritating and it does not help that 90% of these quotes say the same thing in a different way over and over again.
Most social media Influencers and Celebrities are using forced positivity to promote themselves among teens.And teens are a like the easiest target market because it is a complex age group and they are really confused and are always in search for some positive content.These influencers put on a fake happy persona just to attract the audience and since kids are attracted to their happy and flashy lifestyle and this can easily develop the unrealistic feeling of inferiority complex and loss of self-esteem as they can start comparing themselves to these Influencers. It can also put a lot on strain on the person portraying the fake persona as well because he/she gets stuck in this forced expression and it can increase the feelings of sadness and despair and can be mentally very exhausting.And thinking about,its kind of messed up!They will show us how their ramped-up happy lifestyle is awesome but will never show what are they like when they feel just 'Normal' and after a while, people start noticing the forced positive expressions when it starts to take its toll.
Even if we move away from the social media side of the story and move to reality, we only classify human emotions into two or three extreme zones which is sad, depressed or very happy.What is the 'in-between' these two?Can we not be just 'OK' or just 'Fine'.Maybe we can be just 'OK' and 'Fine' but I think we treat those two words as being HAPPY.Lets say I am in a time of my life when everything that I ever wanted is happening and I am really happy but at the same time I know that sooner or later, I will be back to being just fine and normal so is the case for being sad.No one is happy all the time and if I see someone is always happy then I would not want to be friends with that person as it is a completely unrealistic behavior and it is just an insane thing to do.Same can be said about people who are always negative but that is a known fact and the problem is, we gloss over the fact that people are hiding behind their fake smiles.Our society is made in such a way that we are always afraid to let our flaws out because a flawed person is considered a 'loser' or someone who is too weak.This forces us to be in this happy zone even though we do not want to.This creates a tremendous amount of mental pressure that can result in a person doing things that are harmful to themselves and others.Even if we look at our own loved ones,they always tell us to stay positive during our darkest days and it is completely normal since they care about our well being and it may work in the short-term but just being positive will not remove the problems and issues of life and will not just automatically fix things.The feeling of positivity needs to be earned through efforts.I think the major problem is that people have blurred the line between being positive and being optimistic and hopeful.The difference between them is pretty subtle and that is why people treat these two words as the same even when they are not.Also positive mental attitude does not have any relation with being forcefully happy all the time.To me, positive mental attitude means that I am hopeful and optimistic that with some struggle,I may or may not pass the hurdles of life and accepting the fact that failures will eventually come to my door steps and we have to accept them and move on which will automatically result in a more naturally positive behavior.All I am trying to say is that it is fine to be sad when the situation demands and it is fine to share our emotions with people without any type of insecure feelings.It really helps to let our emotions out instead of just forcing it in with a forced positive fake smile.
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