How You Say it Matters

Growing up I remember my mother saying “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”  In fact I remember her repeating it. I was one of four girls and well, we didn’t always get along. We’re best friends now that we’re grown, but that took time.

I’ve been seeing a trend on social media that I’m not really a fan of. It’s the overload of negativity.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I have been called “Pollyanna” and I tend to be overly optimistic. I get that there are bad things that need attention (racism, intolerance, bullying, etc).  I’m talking about straight up complaining and/or bashing.

There are ways to say things. For example, if you have a bad experience at a restaurant you could (and should) take it offline and talk to the manager.  They can’t fix a situation or deal with an employee if they don’t know what’s going on.

If you have a bad experience rather than trashing it you could say “I had fun doing this” or “learned this” or “here’s the highlight of the experience” then add, but it’s not really for me (or even leave that out). I’m not saying to lie and say you love everything. But listen to the difference:

“I hated the zoo, it was terrible. I was hot miserable and will never go back”

or

“The animals are adorable but the weather was too hot for me to go again this summer”

Why do we have to highlight negative? Why can’t we be kind to each other. There are real people that own businesses, work at the businesses, etc and they have feelings.

Life is too short to be mean and negative.  Life is what you make of it – you can see negativity and live a sour life or you can choose to see the positive and live a happier life.

Which will you choose?