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- July 25, 2025 -Toxic Positivity 6 Ways You Can Deal With (and Avoid!) it
July 25, 2025 -Toxic Positivity 6 Ways You Can Deal With (and Avoid!) it
Real strength comes from doing your best, letting go, and trusting life to guide the rest.
Daily Motivation
July 25, 2025
TODAY'S MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE
Just for you, Friend
There’s strength in surrender. Drop the weight of figuring it all out by yourself. It’s humanly impossible to know it all or control every detail of our lives. By surrendering to… Continue Reading
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Toxic Positivity 6 Ways You Can Deal With (and Avoid!) it
How often do you go through social media and come across comments such as...
‘Hang in there’
‘You simply need to leave the house’
‘Don’t give up’
‘Things could have been worse’...
...under a post where someone had shared a negative experience?
In abstract, there is nothing wrong with such comments.
But, there is something wrong when these are used to dismiss the negative experience one is sharing. Social media is loaded with toxic positivity where some people live in a world where nothing bad or negative happens. To them, it is positive vibes always.
As the name suggests, toxic positivity refers to the over-the-top and excessive promotion of positivity…
6 Tips to Sympathize, Not Internalize Other People's Feelings
If you consider yourself an empath or know you have a tendency to please people, you might recognize yourself in this situation:
Your friend has told you she’s hurt by something you said the other night. But perhaps instead of reacting in kind, it feels like a tidal wave has washed over you. You feel her hurt and sadness.
Consequently, maybe you don’t know quite what to say. The pangs in your stomach, the heaviness—it feels all-consuming. And it’s emotionally draining (hey, maybe you feel this when it’s not even about you, too!).
So, what’s going on?
Alright, first, let’s pause and take a deep breath. Now, here comes the hard part: It’s more than likely, in these types of situations, you’re internalizing someone else’s feelings. And you’re likely letting moments of connection pass you by because of it…
What I’m Unlearning
What I'm Unlearning: That Work Trumps Everything
I was that person who wore my seventy-hour weeks like a badge of honor. I'd stay late while everyone else went home to their families, convinced I was demonstrating my dedication, my work ethic, my value to the company. I'd check emails during dinner, take calls during weekend walks, and feel guilty when I wasn't being "productive."
The breaking point was last spring when my eight-year-old nephew asked me to help with a puzzle.
"Just give me five minutes," I said, typing frantically on my laptop. "I need to finish this email." He waited patiently beside me, then quietly walked away. When I finally looked up twenty minutes later, he was gone.
That's when it hit me - I'd been having this exact conversation with everyone I loved for years.
Work had been the main course and everything else was just side dishes - my relationships, my health, my hobbies - they all got the scraps of whatever was left after I'd given my best to my job. I justified it by telling myself I was building something important, that all this sacrifice would pay off eventually. But pay off how, exactly?
With a promotion that would demand even more hours?
With a salary I'd be too burned out to enjoy?
I was climbing a ladder that was leaning against the wrong wall. The scariest part wasn't the realization - it was admitting how much I'd tied my identity to being busy.
Without work consuming my thoughts, who was I?
What was I worth if I wasn't constantly proving my value through productivity?
The quiet moments I'd been avoiding weren't empty - they were full of feelings I'd been too busy to process.
Now I'm learning to see work as one part of my full life, not the be-all end-all. I've been leaving my laptop closed during family dinners, taking lunch breaks, and saying "I'll get to that Monday" without feeling like I'm failing someone.
What’s interesting is - I'm not less effective. I'm more focused, more creative, more present. Turns out when I'm not running on fumes, I actually have something to offer.
We’d love to hear your story! Simply reply to this email and we might feature your experience in an upcoming newsletter.
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Today’s Quote
Today's Affirmation
I am learning to view my memories through a different lens.
My life is full of beautiful options.
Everything in my life works together harmoniously… Continue Reading
May your mind be strong even if your back is not. - Credit @amyfranke - IG
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