 I have previously hated what I always used to call the cult of positivity. It doesn't mean smiling in every moment. It doesn't mean faking it. It means being real but also trusting that it will be okay one day. You guys haven't seen my rats in a while which is a crying shame. I know you love Bridget, Andy and Esme. So let's hang out with them today. They make these elaborate little houses. I'll give them Kleenexes and paper towels and like old clothes and they will just stuff it in their little homes. Can we come out and make these cozy little nests? Like I want to hang out there, you know? Positive is a word I hear often directed at me as a compliment. And hey, thank you so much. I really really really appreciate that and that encourages me. But it makes me think a lot because I previously hated what I always used to call the cult of positivity because I feel like there's so much false information about what it actually means to be positive about there. But I've never really had words for what I mean by that until now. A couple weeks ago, I saw this picture. I have no idea where it's from. Staying positive doesn't mean that you have to be happy all the time. It means that even on hard days, you know that there are better ones coming. And I was like, God, that's it. Because I see so many people, whether it's on social media, whether it's in real life, whether it's through speeches I watch or events I've attended or books that are promoted or read, that like being positive means that in every situation, you have to replace a negative thought with a positive one. And that's not good psychology. That doesn't work. Moving towards positive thinking is a good thing. But you also have to experience negative emotions because you're not a robot and you're human. And the idea that being positive is not about being happy in every moment or twisting everything to be suddenly a good thing, but it's about the idea that you are trusting and having faith that you know what, it's going to work out. It might suck right now, but it is going to work out. Clicked for me. And I was like, that's exactly what I think that's exactly what I thought. And that's exactly what I try to work towards. If you watch the video, I will link it up here where I recommend the gifts to get for people who are sick or going through surgery. I talk about Audible in a book that I've been reading. I finished called Girl Wash Your Face. Now, I avoided reading this book for a very long time because I thought it was just another cheesy motivational book. It wasn't. It was a very realistic take on like building a life that you love and something I really liked about what Rachel Hollis, the author, said. With centered around her perspective of you have to look at reality. You have to look at the things that have happened to you. You have to look at the things that hurt to be able to get through them, which obviously I've talked a lot about on this channel. Like you have to grieve things that deserve it. You know, traumas that we've gone through things or people that we've lost. We can't just spin positive thinking on it and make it all better. I feel like so many communities that I'm involved in, whether it's the APT community or faith communities that I've previously been involved with, mental health communities, focus only on positive thinking. And I have personally found that to be an extremely destructive way to live life. When I make peace with being in a bad mood. Now not taking that out on other people. Not like giving in to destructive tendencies. Just being angry and finding a healthy way to express that, to cope with that, to deal with it, to experience that and then let it go. Or you know, to be sad, instead of just trying to put a positive spin on it, things get so much better so much faster. It's not negative to have human emotions. Again, we're not robots. I think it's negative when we sit and assume nothing's ever gonna get better. Nothing's ever gonna change. We're always gonna be dragged down. Everything's always gonna suck. And to like have that mindset and spread it. Or even just keep it to ourselves. I think of positive thinking as knowing and believing and having faith that the future will come, that there is hope there, that it will bring good things. And pressing forward to that, even if you can't feel it right now, even if you can't see it right now. It doesn't mean smiling in every moment. It doesn't mean faking it. It means being real, but also trusting that it will be okay one day. That what you're feeling right now in this moment is gonna pass. That's kind of what I think about when I think about positive thinking. Because I feel like there's a lot of misinformation in my opinion about what it actually is floating around out there. And I spent so much of my life kind of crushed under the weight of I have to force myself to be fake happy all the time. Otherwise I'm a negative person and that's not how that works. Oh, I just almost stepped on you baby. This is Bridget. Welcome back. Internet has not seen you in a while. Got some fans out there. Doesn't she? Aren't you beautiful? So I found this at Target the other day. It's called Bright Thoughts poster book. It's like 10 tiny little posters, right? And I feel like I played right into their scheme. Like I am the target demographic for this. Like for cute little semi-pointless sayings with cute little art and sparkly little pages. And yet I still bought it. Those darn marketing geniuses. But I am curious if anyone else likes this kind of thing. Like dream it and then do it. I don't know if these sayings actually motivate anyone but they make me feel nice to be around. So I think I'm going to put some of them up in here. Would anyone like me to send them one? If so, comment below and I would love to send you Paige out of this book. They're made of like thick cardstock so I could ship it out to you. Target. Are you a beautiful rat? Yes you are. Are you allowed up here? The answer is no. So she's got this weird thing for mirrors. Like she's absolutely insistent on seeing all of them. You still can't get through it honey. I'm sorry. Have yourselves a lovely rest of your day. I look forward to reading and answering your comments. And I will talk to you soon. Bye guys. She's trying to take my earrings because they're sparkly. Ah!