Ram explores how active goodwill can limit viral negativity and systematically spread lasting positivity on DifferentTruths.com.

“A lie,” said Mark Twain, “can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” Indeed, in our age of the digital world and social media, negativity has acquired accelerated speed to spread and takes no time to become viral. Be it misinformation, disinformation, or hate news, we see, with surprise and unease, the way they travel. At the same time, we get upset with the difficulty positivity encounters in radiating itself.

Here, it is instructive first to understand some basic characteristics of negativity.

Negativity is light and moves up and around fast. On the other hand, positivity has weight and depth. It remains low and moves slowly.

Negativity is spicy. False news, for instance, triggers excitement, surprise, or disgust, prompting gossip and rumours for longer. Positivity is plain and, at best, just generates a short-term feel-good factor of happiness, hope or trust.

Negativity has nuisance value and causes immediate harm. Embedded with “negative bias”, our brains are wired to pay more attention to negative stimuli. Negativity, thus, can disturb us immediately. As a benign force, positivity takes time to assimilate and flourish.

Negativity comes naturally. Nobody, for example, teaches us how to be jealous or angry. But we need to cultivate positive traits like calmness, civility or kindness.

No surprise, armed with these traits, negativity diffuses significantly farther and faster than positivity. Overwhelming us easily, it does not need any extra support to get peddled or to find momentum. Be it negative validation by others or negative life events, they all affect us, invite our stronger reaction, and stay with us for a long time. Negative experiences take an extra toll.

It is wishful thinking that we can escape negativity. In fact, negativity is an important part of our emotional architecture. Further, all emotions, negative or positive, are basically information or alerts. The quality of our interactions, actions, and even our progress is shaped by our good and bad feelings. By trying to escape, conceal, and avoid negative states, we may miss out on valuable cues and information. Clearly, we need to work hard on positivity while limiting the adverse impact of negativity.

Why Positivity?

Surely, it is not about ignoring stress or forcing people to feel happy all the time. It is about building emotional resources.

Several studies have linked having a sunnier outlook on life to improved psychological well-being and a lower risk of heart disease. Positive psychological interventions are associated with helping people build emotional resistance. In 2021, the American Heart Association released a scientific statement on the mind-heart-body connection, explaining that psychological well-being is an important factor in managing stress and cardiovascular health. The good news is that even if we are not natural optimists, there are ways to reap the benefits of optimistic thinking to help protect our hearts.

Spreading Positivity

To spread positivity, we need to work on two fronts – on the self and the ecosystem around us. Most of the time, we get so mired in and disoriented with negativity that we hardly have time, energy, or focus to set our minds for positive thinking. There are many evidence-based habits that researchers say can promote optimism and positivity. Walking in nature, daily walks, exercising, meditation, writing down good things that happen to us in a day, etc., enhance the feel-good factor within us.

At the same time, we also first need to learn to discard or adequately handle the pain of negative emotions. Lord Rama kept his unwavering positive mindset even though his environment was chaotic, unfair, and filled with adversity. Even while heading for a 14-year exile and during his stay in the forest, he didn’t forget his sense of duty and demonstrated supreme positive qualities of self-control, equipoise, fair play, and compassion.

Heartwarming stories around characters like Nishadraj, Shabari, and Sugriva in Ramayana exemplify the point that, whatever the circumstances, it is possible to grow a lotus of positivity even in the mud of negativity.

Further, we can contribute consciously and intentionally in a variety of constructive ways to build a conducive ecosystem for positivity. Making others happy, for instance, is a way that not only is personally rewarding but also can create a positive atmosphere of trust, empathy and kindness. There is positivity everywhere; we need to touch it by touching people’s lives and spreading the smell of humanity. Goodness always brings forth goodness in return.

Here, Lord Buddha’s teachings and practices can also show the way. Through his principles of love and compassion (Karuna), Buddha aimed for a harmonious society. He propounded the practice of universal love or “metta” (maitri in Sanskrit) as an antidote to hatred, anger, and selfishness. Cultivated through meditation, sending specific, positive wishes to oneself and others, the Buddhists practise loving-kindness, a cultivated mental state of unselfish, universal benevolence and active goodwill towards all beings.

While social media is berated for making negativity viral, the same platforms can act as a force for good to spread cheer and foster fraternity. Prioritising heartwarming and empowering posts; aiming to uplift and inspire others; and disseminating factual, accurate and positive news with friends and followers are yet some other ways we can leverage it purposefully.

Beyond social media, too, we can support the communities and institutions engaged in activities that promote social good, directly or indirectly. Sports, cultural events and festivals, music, yoga, and spirituality are some notable ways that can foster a feel-good factor, bonhomie and fraternity. Take sports, for instance. Recently, there were news reports about how, in the conflict zone like Manipur, Meiteis and Kukis, the arch-rivals for long, united on a football field under Operation Sadbhavana (goodwill), an Indian Army initiative. This showcases a scenario that demonstrates that, beyond the virtual world, online toxic drama, political games or media hypes, it is possible to nurture a positive, healthier and fulfilling life offline, in the real world.

Picture design by Anumita Roy

Ram Krishna Sinha

Ram Krishna Sinha is a former General Manager at Bank of India, and lives in Mumbai. After three and half decades of distinguished career in the Bank, he is presently invested in talent mapping, management education and writing for newspapers and magazines on contemporary issues. An author of the motivational book “X-Factor @Workplace” published by Tata McGraw Hill, he is an Opinion Columnist for the CEOWORLD magazine.