Sand Castle Studios

Today is Day 2 of the Big Bad Blogger Challenge 2010.

Today’s Topic:  Being Positive

It’s easy to get discouraged.  There are a lot of negative people.  Those people can really bring you down.. if you let them.  However, if you make it a practice to intentionally find the positive things in your life, you will realize that those people don’t have much power when you don’t give it to them.

As for me, I’m a pretty positive person.  I consider it one of the keys to the modest success I’ve had.  Positive thinking has changed my life.  It’s helped me to turn problems into opportunities.

In fact, just recently I:

1. Signed several new accounts to Sand Castle Studios.  Our team came up with some amazing proposals, and I can’t wait for you to experience the finished projects.

2. Had the opportunity to give an amazing talk on Creating Immersive Experiences at the University of Delaware, the school from which I graduated.  I always love talking about virtual worlds, but there is something special about speaking some place that feels like home.

3.  Started a podcast (after some encouragement from the team at Rezzed.tv).  The feedback has been so positive and several people even told me they have begun reading a book I mentioned on the show.

These are just a few recent examples of how positive thinking has contributed to my happiness and success.  It’s not just me either.  Studies have shown over and over again that positive thinking actually has real and measurable effects.

So why is everyone so negative?

When I recently examined this topic, I found that not only Second Life users, but also social media users have a habit of complaining in response to the smallest changes.  I asked if people complained because they were afraid of change. Eshi Otawara commented and suggested that “the way users complain about changes is closely connected to the general education of the majority of humans today.”    However, I suspected that we focus on the negative because it’s easy, it’s what we’ve been taught,  and in a way, it feels good… it soothes us.. it protects us.

Tonight, Nika Dreamscape hit home for me, when she suggested another reason:

We react so strongly and complain so loudly because we care so deeply. Most of us have invested so much of ourselves into this platform. When the road gets rocky, we hurt. It’s natural.

I get that.  I hurt too sometimes, and it is because I care.  However, I also choose to make a positive out of a negative, for the same reason (because I care).  That doesn’t mean that I’m not practical, but when I set my mind on the positive things, I make positive actions, which lead to positive outcomes.

Here are 3 small changes you can make today:

1.  See bad things as a a stepping stone to something else.. a blessing in disguise.

2.  Realize that anything is a possible, instead of dwelling on why it’s not.

3.  Love and be thankful for what you already have.

What do you think?  How do you keep yourself thinking positively?