UNITED STATES—Oh, people talk about positive thinking like it is so easy. It is not America. I think everyone wants to have positive thoughts 24/7, but it just doesn’t always bode that way. You have days that let’s all collectively say it, “They suck.” The day starts bad and no matter what you attempt to do to change the mood and the energy, it just doesn’t happen. That is NOT your fault people so don’t blame yourself for that if it does indeed transpire.

That is the thing that annoys me when people constantly say change your energy, no one wakes up just wanting negative energy in their bubble or aura. Who would want that? That leads to stress and that stress leads to major health problems that I think no one wants to bring in their lives. You can begin to write affirmations down and that helps, but the problem is you have to remember to do them. So many of us forget to do them and as a result, you can’t focus on the positive if you’re not mentally training yourself to do it.

I do journal, but the journaling is more for me to jot down important thoughts that come to mind, especially when I am thinking about filmmaking and ideas that just hit my head and I don’t want to forget about it. I will admit you have to place yourself in the orbit of people who tend to be positive thinkers. You don’t want to be in the orbit of people who are always negative. When I say always negative, I mean literally everything that comes out of their mouth is a complaint about someone else. That is not just bad energy, it is toxic energy and that energy can so quickly take your positive outlook on the day, or the week to be thrown out the window quicker than you can count to three.

I have found myself literally telling people, you’re negative and that I only want positive energy for the day. So if you cannot think positive or focus on the good things in life I’m going to distance myself from you. This is NOT to say people aren’t allowed to have bad days because you absolutely are. Hell, we’re in the midst of the holidays which are expected to be the most joyous time of the year, but if you recently lost a loved one or you have bad memories of losing loved ones around the holidays it forces you to reflect on those traumatic times in your life and it is NOT easy to be in the bubbly bright mood everyone thinks you should be in.

Positive thinking comes with constant mind training. You have to train your brain to try to focus on the positive. It may be just thinking positive, but focusing your energy and thoughts on things that bring joy to your life. It could be a family member, it could be your favorite movie, song, book, TV show, art, sketches, fashion, going to a place that brings you joy and peace, there are a horde of things that could come to mind, but once you find it that is a plus in my eyes because you know a way to shift your mood which is always great people.