Odyshape

I have recently been under a lot of self analysis. I have been very diligent in understanding what motivates me to achieve. Especially at a time right now (I recently had my first ever university mid term :O). I put a great amount of thought into understanding what allows me to accomplish things and what inhibits me. For a while I thought it was really complicated and a mushed up issue but in I figured it out to essentially be two things. Understanding my biological needs and how they contrast with modern life and comprehending how important it is to stay positive to be happy.

Biologically our evolutionary process has been moving far too slow to catch up to our huge advances within our species. Understanding this is important because it means a lot of the things we need to keep up our mental health aren't always so obvious. Our ancestors were used to mental stimulation while traversing many miles a day. Naturally this means that in order to maintain our mental health exercise can be a huge contributor, among many other things such as understanding our natural tendencies due to gender. Specifically with gender I think it is important to note the profound differences and roles that aren't always appreciated or recognized between men and women. There is this very attractive idea of gender equality that I think has caused many people to overlook the differences between man and women. Men and women have much different needs from each other. They may be archaic and irrational by today lax survival environment but the fact that they are still there are very important to recognize. To not understand and embrace them would be counterproductive to one’s mental health and not only hurts relationships but confuses a person’s true desires. When any male or female proclaim that the opposite gender is "crazy" or "unpredictable" it shows to me that they do not have an appreciation for that man and women needs are simply different.

One thing I have definitely noticed with pushing understanding myself as a natural being rather than a complex human is that my problems unfold and solve themselves from a focus on a need and not an outcome. Meaning I motivate myself by understanding what I need to do as fulfilling a need for my mental health rather than me tackling a complex problem as a whole (like understanding computer programming, writing an essay etc). That kind of thinking jumbles up your mind I find with not so useful information that often leads to demotivating negative thoughts often of self-doubt.

Take for example people who play sports. When you hear them speak about their victories they usually describe their goal as not necessarily winning but simply acting upon their need to perform. Looking too far ahead isn't always viable.

Simplifying complex thoughts to be in line with a need for mental nourishment rather than an abstract mental block (looking too far ahead/focusing too greatly on an outcome) allows yourself to really believe positive thoughts you tell yourself. You have fewer opportunities to doubt your positive thoughts. Positivity to me is something that gets thrown around too much as a mental trick or something that delusional people use to get them through the day. To me it’s really quite the opposite. Positive thinking not only opens up your mind to success and relieves stress but it allows you to make defined distinctions about what you believe to be a negative factor in your life. Too often people bombard themselves with so many negative thoughts they are no longer capable of discerning the real ones from the ones they build up in their head. They lose faith in their judgment and lose trust in themselves (influencing self-esteem greatly). Keeping a positive perspective on most things creates personal awareness. It doesn't mean you are blind to negativity. It means you have the mental "storage" to get past negative thoughts. By this I mean you have the mental energy to understand true negativity as well as having negativity distinguished from your normal thoughts making them more clear by contrast, allowing you to tackle them with great confidence.

This kind of thinking has been most profound for me because I have done a complete 180 with my outlook on the world. Socially I realized with all this positive thinking I have the ability to bring out the best of people around me. I have had more confidence in my academic ability and my ability to write well has been greatly improved, and my level of happiness has sky rocketed. I was in a rut for a while and just kind of thought well **** it im going to do something different. It makes me realize that circumstance doesn't really matter it’s all really about perspective. It creates a tough outer shell that's totally healthy and essentially makes you realize how little there is to hate and how unproductive and unhealthy all those little negative thoughts you experience throughout the course of a day are. I am very very very fortunate that this hit me right now (a time when my brain is extremely receptive and optimistic aka being 17) but I see application for this in other people’s lives.

What do you guys think? Have you ever had a turning point in your life like this? or what’s your experience with understanding how you respond to staying positive.

Scarlett O'Hara

That was me when I was 17 up until 20. Since then real world was involved and you get away from the precious blanket that is first year University and into a PC nightmare.

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Odyshape

Good thing im not 20 yet hahahaha