What is positivity? According to the dictionary, it is the practice or tendency to be optimistic. When we are positive, we engage in positive thinking, emotions, and behaviors like kindness and generosity.
What is the value of positivity? According to John Hopkins University, we can boost our bright side. Another study found that smiling-even fake smiling-reduces heart rate and blood pressure during stressful situations. They recommend trying a few minutes of YouTube humor therapy instead of stomping your feet, fuming, or worse yet, saying things you might regret later.
Did you know that your brain lights up when thinking about positive things? In other words, our brains work better when we think positively.
The University of California at Berkley found that positive people have more energy and are more self-confident and hopeful. They are more resilient, and this helps them bounce back faster. So let’s use our happy brains and see if we can define “positivity one letter at a time.”
P-Powerful
Powerful people can change the world and our lives. President Abraham Lincoln was a very powerful person. Even after he attained the highest political position in America, the presidency, he treated everyone he encountered with honesty, humility, courage, justice, and grace. Even during Lincoln’s lifetime, people were fascinated by him.
O-Optimist
Helen Keller might be #1 on our list of optimistic people. She overcame challenges that many of us never face. She wrote, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.”
S-Simplicity
Anna Mary Robertson, known to us as Grandma Moses, became a painter at age 78. She had been known in her community for her detailed needlework. Still, when arthritis rendered her unable to continue needlepoint and embroidery, she turned to painting on wood scraps using only housepaint.
I-Interesting
As an inventor, Edison is one of the most famous inventors of all time. He was prolific, holding over 1,000 patents, but his best-known inventions include the light bulb, phonograph, and the early movie camera.
T-Thankful
Real heroes are usually thankful people. German-born Anne Frank is the best-selling teenage author of the 20th century. She wrote one book, a diary, while hiding from the Nazis during the German occupation of the Netherlands. “How wonderful it is,” she wrote in a tiny hideaway, “that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
I-Inspiring
Perhaps the most famous and inspiring female pilot, in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. During her short career, she set altitude records and inspired other women to learn to fly by participating in the first Women’s Air Derby.
V- Versatile
It’s hard to pick just one person as the most versatile person in history, but since our assignment is to do just that, it would be Leonardo da Vinci. He was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, and inventor. His curiosity knew no bounds, and although he had no formal academic training, many historians and scholars regard him as a perfect example of a well-educated and versatile person.
Leonardo, known by his first name even in the 21st century, is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived. Although he is best known for his dramatic and expressive artwork, Leonardo also conducted dozens of carefully thought-out experiments that led to groundbreaking futuristic ideas. His keen eye and quick mind led him to make important scientific discoveries.
I-Imaginative or inventive
Walt Disney may be the most imaginative and inventive person in the 20th century. Without his contributions to the movie and television industries, our idea of “entertainment” might be different.
Walt Disney constantly pushed the boundaries of animation and entertainment. He created family-friendly new things for the public using different types of media; comic strips, cartoons, TV programs, movies, etc. He was one of the first animators to use television to extend Disney’s brand. Imagination was at the heart of everything Walt Disney did.
T-Tenacity
Tenacity is the quality or fact of being very determined. Words we use to describe tenacity are courage, determination, and diligence. These three successful people are considered “tenacious” because of their desire to succeed, regardless of the importance of their mission.
- Benjamin Franklin never stopped inventing.
- Florence Nightingale was a trailblazing figure in nursing who greatly affected 19th and 20th policies around proper medical care.
- Henry Ford had a natural tenacious attitude and a hard work ethic.
Y-Yes
What happens when you say “yes” more often? Saying “yes” opens a door for something new to happen. The things you say “yes” to happen, memories are created, and new experiences enrich your life.