Fighting Fire With Fire
"Send out a cheerful, positive greeting, and
most of the time you will get back a cheerful, positive greeting. It's also
true that if you send out a negative greeting, you will, in most cases, get
back a negative greeting."
- Zig Ziglar
(1926-2012)
Author/Speaker
I recently
had a friend tell me he was leaving Facebook because he could not stand all the
negative and hateful things that people post there. I have known several other friends who have
stopped watching the news or reading newspapers because they get so depressed
with the constant flow of negative information.
I understand this very well.
There are days when I feel like every person who posted that day in
social media was mad, depressed or just overwhelmed with negative events in
their lives. I have also got up from a
quick review of the news of the day feeling as if the best thing was just to go
back to bed.
Negativity is an infectious disease
that spreads faster than any other on earth does. Where I do believe we need to treat it as a
sickness and avoid contact, I do think there is a better way to combat this
without abandon hope altogether.
The first thing to understand is
that everyone else is fighting the same fight.
Many who are negative and down are there because they just see the
negative around them. Negativity causes
us to lose hope and to be caught in its web.
However, what works for the negative can also work for the
positive. If we are exposed to more and
more that is positive and encouraging, we feel better and we have a better outlook
on life. Perhaps the time has come to
fight fire with fire.
I am seeing a trend among people
to see the wrongs in this world and rather than fight, they just quit and walk
away. What you have to see is that the world
needs you. It is crying out for some
good news and some hope for a better tomorrow.
I am not talking of some made up, pie-in-the-sky, “Oh, everything is
lovely” type of thinking. Positive
people are positive because they know there is hope and that tomorrow can be
better if you choose to make it so. It
is not a wish it is a reality.
Here is my suggestion, rather
than leave social media or a group or organization you are a part of, and be
the positive influence. If we can allow
people to be negative, then we can claim our ground and take over. Flood social media with positive and helpful
news, information and posts. Encourage
everyone you know to be the best they can be, to love God, have good manners,
discover the unknown and change the world.
Will this be easy? Not at all.
It will be the hardest task you have faced in a long time. Just remember that there are far more
positive people around than negative. I
know it does not always seem like that, but it is that negative people and very
vocal and active about their negativity; positive people on the other hand tend
to be more quiet. Time we started
creating some noise!
If you need a break from the
news, go on a news fast for a week or so.
If you have people on social who are always negative and hurtful,
defriend them, but keep those who need to hear your words of
encouragement. Keep in mind every time
you post something, talk to people or send an email that what you say matters. Be the one people look forward to seeing and
hearing from in their lives. We can make
a difference when we take back what the negative has stolen.
To discover how you can achieve the dream you have believed was
impossible for too long, read On The
Journey To Achievement by John Patrick Hickey. You can get a signed copy for yourself and
get one for a friend, by going to http://www.johnpatrickhickey.com/it-is-good-to-set-goals-better-to-achieve-then/. Now available on Kindle, Oops! Did I Really Post That? Online
Etiquette in the Digital Age by John Patrick Hickey.
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