Toxic mindsets come to us from previous generations and are unknowingly passed down to us because either past generations were either scared or ignorant to change. I’m sure when I say toxic mindsets, you can think of a few examples in your life. Mindsets are mental attitudes, and how you view yourself and the world. Can you tell me how you view yourself at this moment right now?
Toxic mindsets are various, and many. For example, the happiness mindset which is prevalent through recent applications like Instagram, makes people believe they should always be happy and that life is too short to feel any way else. This too is toxic without us realizing it.
I grew up around this, and I’m sure you did as well. “Happiness” as what it is supposed to be, was portrayed to us through social media. For me specifically, for a long time, I was very unhappy because I was not feeling the same amount of happiness that was being portrayed or marketed to me. Feeling only happiness all the time is not good for long-term mental health; it can leave you unable to process any negative-perceived emotions as they come along. It can leave you feeling numb or insensitive to the outside world.
I like to call emotions negative-perceived or positive-perceived. Isn’t everything we see, feel or hear just part of how we perceive it? Nothing is necessarily negative or positive until we connect real-world examples with them. Such as if someone was depressed and committed suicide, the feelings that were at the root cause of that act would be perceived as negative. However, the feelings themselves are not negative. It’s how we receive and perceive them; feelings are all about how we mentally deal with them. Most of us are not shown at a young age how to deal with emotions because anything other than happiness has a stigma, or a black cloud, constantly enveloping it.
I, however, welcome sadness, frustration, and anger. It helps one develop a deeper sense of themselves and for me, it helps open up a fountain of creativity. Being sad is the only way I can feel creative; it allows me time to reflect and rejuvenate myself. How about you? How can you utilize your other feelings?
Prioritize your mindset. Don’t shut out emotions, allow yourself to feel them and recuperate. Feelings are meant to be felt throughout life, and you are able to move past them. Turn negative-perceived emotions into positive ones. Let yourself thrive and conquer in a negative-biased world.