Patricia Majalisa Positive Feeling (1987)
The message of South African singer Patricia Majalisa’s 80s feel-good-disco-pop-jam is so constantly present in today’s world that it’s tempting to just tune it all out: “Be positive!” every fitness influencer seems to urge you in their reel/post, “No really, think positively! It’s good for you! Just don’t give up!! Thinking positively is healthy!!”
Here’s the kicker: Everyone screaming this from the metaphorical rooftops of healthy social media is … right. Many scientific studies show that an optimistic attitude and positive thinking do have a positive effect on your health. They can, for example, lead to reduced stress levels, more resilience, and seem to be correlated to behaviors enhancing physical health.
While science says that having a generally optimistic (rather than pessimistic) outlook on life depends partially on genetics and on early childhood experiences, positive thinking can be practiced! How? Most annoyingly (but also conveniently!) with exactly the exercises that you’ve heard about a million times already: Gratitude journals, practicing mindfulness, positive self-talk—you get it. According to studies, it’s exactly these kinds of exercises that when practiced regularly over a period of time can help with establishing positive thinking patterns.
So in this case, the pop-science endlessly fed to us through social media turns out to be absolutely correct. Kind of annoying—but also kind of great!
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