UNITED STATES—Positive energy, negative energy, we all deal with bouts of it on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. We have days that are good and we have days that are not so good. However, it raises the question of why some harper on the negative instead of focusing on the positive.

I bring this situation to the forefront because my father is someone who drowns himself at times with negative energy. It’s something I have attempted to sway him from more times than I can count. He attributes his negative thinking pattern thanks to a childhood where he was surrounded by negative people. However, that is something I refuse to accept. Why? Misery loves company. One can always find a way to distance themselves from negative energy if they truly wanted to.

This is what concerns me. I really do think that some Americans enjoy negative energy. There is something about negativity that drives people’s motives and actions. It’s like they need negative energy to fuel them; they use it to kick off conversations, to bring up their spirits while tearing others down. Be aware people negative energy is very draining. It’s going to suck the life out of you, like a vampire sucking the blood from one’s body.

Just imagine if all that negative energy was transformed or re-directed on focusing on something positive, the horizon is unstoppable. I’m a firm believer that you have to take the good with the bad and the bad with the good. No one can be positive 365 days a year. I’m sorry; I just don’t believe it no matter how hard one might want to pitch that notion to the world it ain’t happening. You might put on a front in the public spotlight, however, when no one is watching they are screaming, shouting and venting to refuel themselves.

I want to challenge Americans to refocus their energies as 2017 comes into fruition. I will be the first to acknowledge that 2016 was one hell of a year for me. I was challenged and beat up physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually in ways that I have never encountered in previous years.  At the end of the day I survived. Why? Because I’ve realized that positive energy can trump negative energy any day.

Even when I’m having a bad day, I find a way to find a bright spot that can bring my spirits back up. Focusing that energy simply on the smallest thing can help one put into perspective what matters and what doesn’t matter. If you drown yourself with negativity, that negativity is ALWAYS going to surround you so no matter how much positive glimmers may show up, they are blocked because one refuses to see it.

No matter how bad something may be in life, the fact is there is always someone out there who has things far worse than you. Just think about that sometimes. Focusing on rather you have the hottest fashions, or the fanciest vehicle or the latest gadget, when you have people who have no roof, no food, one arm, one leg, blind, deaf, things are not as bad for you as you suspect they are. When you are challenged in life it’s a way of seeing if one folds under pressure or finds a way to overcome that obstacle to prove to themselves their capabilities.

When you focus on what you want (within reasonable attainability), the likelihood of making that goal come to fruition only gets that much stronger. Negative energy is bad, positive thoughts are powerful. Hmmm, I like that slogan; it might become my new catchphrase for 2017!