There is Power in Positivity

There are many unfortunate things in this world. From ISIS to Monday mornings, from Ebola to stubbing your toe. And sometimes it can be a challenge to stay on the positive side. It could take one bad grade or one nagging headache to send your day spiraling down. Maybe you’re stressing over deadlines you have to make this week or crucial exams looming on the horizon. It’s really easy to let yourself get down. But I’ve learned it’s all about perspective.

Leave it to Organic Chemistry to make me have a sudden realization about life. This class is probably the bane of my existence thus far this semester. Never have I struggled so much in a class and worried so much about the eventual outcome. Knowing that plenty of other people are struggling like you can be somewhat comforting, but not a whole lot. Most pre-med kids set the bar so high for themselves that it can be a tough pill to swallow when a 50% in the class is not that bad of a score.

There was about a 2 week stretch where I absolutely dreaded everything that had to do with O-Chem. From constantly living in fear of a pop quiz in lecture to the 4-hour lab every week. You can ask several people close to me how much I hated Tuesdays. Every Tuesday I have the once a week 8 a.m. lab-lecture and my actual lab later on that afternoon on top of other classes, and for a while I was not a very happy camper about this. While waiting to go into lab I was a broken record player, repeating “I really don’t want to be here right now.” That combined with my less than desirable scores on our quizzes really put me in a funk.

Then one day before lab, a friend of mine replied to my whining with a smile, “You should really try to be more positive! It makes lab so much better.” At first I just shook it off; that’s easy to say but c’mon, this stuff is miserable. But she had a smile on her face the whole time during lab, she was joking around, and she still got a great score. I got to thinking. Maybe I should try it out?

So the following week I showed up to lab with a positive attitude, feeding off the energy of my friend. I tried to be focused, but at the same time stress-free and not grouchy. I kid you not, that was the best lab of the year. Staying positive and happy really made the time go faster and the experience more enjoyable. I guess that’s when it sort of clicked. Why be so negative when I have so much to be happy about?

I am so unbelievably blessed to find myself in the position that I’m in. I have been graced with an upper level education from a highly renowned institution, a beautiful place to live, and incredible people to surround myself with. I have a wonderful family and group of friends whom I love and I believe that I have found a career path that I am passionate about. Clothes on my back, food on my plate, a roof over my head; how could I possibly be upset?

Recently I have been going about life with a more positive outlook and it really has worked. It’s not a fake happiness where I try to act happy for the sake of appearance. I am legitimately enjoying some of the smaller things in life like beautiful weather and sharing laughs with my friends.

Not only does having a good attitude affect your mood, it affects those around you. A friend of mine has recently told me that he’s is going to try to be more positive as well. It’s contagious. A small bump in the road like a less than desirable grade or a long lab isn’t going to affect me as much anymore. Of course I’m still going to study and work my tail off in school, but at the end of the day, I will not let the little things get me down.