Can you believe we’re a third of the way through the year already? I hope everyone who’s been following this challenge has seen some changes in the way they think about and react to things so far. As I say at the end of every post, I don’t expect that every post will be super-relevant to every reader, but I hope you’ve been able to take what’s been useful to you and benefit from it. Finding the kind of positivity that works for you isn’t a path that one writer can lead you down, though, so this week, we’ll tackle how to find your Positivity Mentors. What is a Positivity Mentor (and how on earth can a fictional character be considered one)? It’s someone whose positive energy clicks with you. You get what they’re saying or doing, you enjoy the way they say or do it. You may even think, “What would so-and-so do in this situation?” You can find your mentors through blogs, books, TV, movies, or even real life.
Why do you need Positivity Mentors? To let you know you’re not alone when you’re struggling on finding positivity in the hard times. To give you different perspectives on positivity that open your mind up to new ideas. I definitely advocate having multiple mentors, though… getting many perspectives and influences helps keep me from getting bored with one idea or another.
Each person has to figure out their own Positivity Mentors, but here are mine, and the reasons why they click with me. Feel free to check them out and let me know your Positivity Mentors in the comments.
Gretchen Rubin – Reading Rubin’s The Happiness Project (inspired by Luci Furious’ review) at the end of last year was definitely one of the main inspirations in starting this Positivity Challenge. I’m drawn to Rubin’s voice because of the accessibility of the advice she offers; anyone can follow her suggestions and adapt them to their own practices.
Amy Ippolitti – While searching through GaiamTV for some new yoga one day, I stumbled upon one called Happiness Flow. Little did I know that I was about to discover someone who has quickly become one of my favorite yoga instructors. I couldn’t help but leave that practice feeling lighter and even smiling, and Ippolitti brings that energy into her website and Facebook presence, too. I can only hope that I have to opportunity to take a class in person with her someday.
Sarah Kay – Kay’s blockbuster (1.6million views and counting) TED presentation of her poems “B” and “Hiroshima,” left me sobbing with joy after watching them for the first time. Unlike so many spoken word poets who rage against the world through their art, the positivty she expresses is so refreshing. She spreads that positivity through Project VOICE, an organization she founded, bringing educational programs about the power of writing into schools. You can catch her in a Samsung Galaxy commercial that’s running in the US at the moment, too, which is neat.
Phoebe Buffay – Like I said last week, Phoebe takes every challenge that life throws at her and hits it out of the park with a smile on her face. But the thing I love most about Phoebe? The fact that she unabashedly embraces silliness.
This Week’s Challenge
So those are my mentors… find some mentors of your own. Let me know who your Positivity Mentors are in the comments.
This Week’s Mantra
Because this post about Mentors got me thinking about Sarah Kay and her way with words, here’s one of my favorite quotes from “B” (which is also available as a hardcover book and should be bought for all daughters everywhere ever.)
“Don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining. Your voice is small, but don’t ever stop singing.”
If you want a reminder of your mantra for the next week, feel free to click the image above to download the full-size version suitable for desktop wallpapers, printing, or framing.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional or mental health expert, and there are problems that positivity cannot overcome, so please do not take this advice in lieu of a doctor’s care.
Not all challenges will be relevant to everyone, so I welcome you to come and go as you please and take from each challenge what works for you! Please make sure to share your thoughts in the comments!
12 replies on “Positivity Challenge Week 16: Finding Your Positivity Mentors”
No joke, you’re definitely one of my positivity mentors. I love this whole series. Enough that I made an account on here to tell you! Honestly, having a weekly reminder/guide of how to stay/become more positive is… huge. And for that I thank you.
I have a few people in my life who I would consider positivity mentors. When I start getting negative and self-defeating, they’re there to kindly but firmly give me a metaphorical smack to put things in perspective. I’m trying to pre-emptively heed their advice and stop the negativity before it start. Which is much easier said than done.
I think boyfriend freckle and my mother and father are positivity mentors, in there own way. My mother is the ‘ You don’t know if you won’t try one’, my father the ‘If it sucks, you will still have experienced and survived it’Â while my boyfriend just has his pompoms ready for pretty much anything I try or want to try (yes, another reason why I love him).
And I hope I am/can be a positivity mentor for other people.
I love that your family provides you with all those perspectives!
Timely indeed! I’ve recently made a new friend at work who’s greatly inspired me to change my thinking. She’s possibly the most positive person I have ever met and people react to her in amazing ways, just feeding off her positive energy. She gets free parking in the city, secret codes to the building’s roof top garden, gifts, books from strangers, pay raises… I’m not going to go all “The Secret” here but I do think there is something alluring about positive people and that there is indeed a lot of power in positive thinking. Her constant cajoling to change my attitude and look for opportunities has really inspired me. I’ve been thinking a lot about the things she’s been telling me and your article has finally helped me put it in perspective: she’s my positivity mentor! Thanks for the good idea and for keeping up with these challenges! I duck in and out here and there but I really think there is something so basic and good to be gleaned from each one of these posts. <3
Oooh, secret codes to roof top gardens? Sweet. I agree that there’s something that makes you just want to study people who seem to get everything bended to their will. My husband is like that (I think it’s his accent).
Crystal, I really love this series. I don’t always do the challenges, but I’ll have to give this week’s a try. I could use some positivity mentors in my life.
Aw, thank you! Let me know who you find… I love new influences.
Thank you for sharing Sarah Kay’s TED talk! I watched the whole thing before continuing to read your article, and I cried during both of her spoken word performances.
It’s such a strange type of crying she brings out, isn’t it? It sounds so trite to say something is so beautiful that it brings you to tears of joy, but that really, truly was the experience I had the first time I watched that video (and quite often on rewatches). She has a unique gift in the way her words are able to incite a catharsis in her listeners. I could go on for days about her.
This post is very timely. I only very recently realized that I don’t have many super positive people in my life, with the exception of my husband. I can’t fault others around me for being pessimists, because I’m one, too, but it does make me realize that I simply need more positive people around to balance me out.
It’s too easy for me to descend into a negativity spiral, which is ultimately self-defeating.
You’ve inspired me to look more closely for positive people, even if they’re only fictional or present from afar (as motivational figures, perhaps) for the time being.
You’ll be surprised, too… once you find those positive inspirations and bring more positivity out of yourself… it’s amazing how contagious positivity can be to the pessimists around you. It’s a concept that Rubin called the emotional contagion (which works both ways, really), and definitely a topic I have on the backburner.