Pollyanna is a fictional character, an orphan, who found good in everything and everybody. I’m often accused of being one. She had unfailing optimism. She was annoying af.
It’s true, that even with all the horror stories I’ve heard during my years as a psychotherapist, I see the good in people and the world. In fact, I see the humor too, which is a two-edged sword. You either laugh with me, or you frowningly disapprove. There is no question I’m absolutely annoying about finding the positive possibilities in bad situations. And laughing at farcical ones, even my own. Especially my own.
Recently I took the Jung Archetype test, and the results describe me perfectly. (You can take it free online by clicking the link). My true self is the Innocent Child (I can hear those of you who know me laughing hysterically. See, I made you feel better already). My social persona is the Jokester.
Examples of the Innocent Child and Jokester are throughout my writing. Do you need a positive take on China and Russia during the pandemic? Check out my article below on how they helped the U.S. and Italy with China’s discounted and expedited PPE to the U.S. and Russia’s medical personnel and equipment to Italy, published in S. Musk’s Age of Awareness. Did they have ulterior motives? Most likely, but I don’t care. They did good.
Need a silver lining for isolation? Peruse my piece below on the new normal, and why it’s a good thing. For a laugh, read “Combining Virtual Yoga and Cats. What Could Go Wrong?”
Are you seeing how annoying I can be yet? That’s okay. I’m such a positive person, I like myself, even if you don’t like me. Want to know why? Read “Irreverence and Mindfulness.”
I even find the light and bright side of sex after menopause. Anish Lamichhane, MD published my work on how to fix vaginal atrophy in the publication, All About Health. I actually don’t think anybody is annoyed with that information. Except for women who “can’t even” when it comes to sex after menopause. And that’s their right. However, if you want WAP after a certain age, the article tells you how to achieve that.
How about if you are a new, young, parent, or an old, new parent like I was, and need a few laughs. Or just to know it’s possible to make it to the other side of parenting. Even when you don’t feel like you can read one more night-night book, whip your breast out for one more night feeding, step on one more tiny, spiky toy, or wipe one more nose or bottom? Read the various stories I’ve written about becoming a single Mom at age forty-one. Especially the one about penis stuff. Granted, I didn’t have to raise him during a pandemic. You’re on your own there. Or you can read all the great articles by Andrew Knott and others in Frazzled.
What is the other side of parenting? It’s having an adult child. I’ve written quite a bit about that, too, although the funny ones are less Pollyanna, pie-in-the-sky, silver lining around every damned cloud, and more, holy hell, get me and him through this in one piece, so he can be a REAL adult someday. Still, you’ll laugh. Especially if you’re the parent of an adult child. The adult children who comment on these pieces aren’t laughing. You can’t please everybody.
How about relationships? Can someone who’s been single most of their adult life still find love? Is there a light at the end of that tunnel? There is, and I keep heading toward it. Read my post in P.S. I Love You, «How to Figure Out What You Really Want in a Relationship.»
Which brings me to dark humor. While it doesn’t fit the “annoyingly positive” category, it does make us laugh at our frailties, and dire circumstances, especially how we deal with them. That’s when my Jokester archetype really comes out to play.
It’s the antithesis of the Innocent Child archetype, who sees lollipops and rainbows. But they have something in common. Laughter is laughter is laughter. And it’s good for you. Good for your heart, your lungs, your belly muscles, digestion, and sex drive. (I made the last one up, but if you can make me laugh, you have a much greater chance of getting me into bed).
No joke, though, we live in stressful times. One way to deal and become annoyingly positive is to meditate, practice mindfulness, and other healthier habits than grousing. See my article on “5 Quick Ways to Relieve Stress and Anxiety,” published in The Ascent.
So, in addition to mindfulness, how else do you, too, become annoyingly positive? Watch the ancient Pollyanna movie. Emulate her. You’ll be annoying af in no time. Just like me.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Logan Isbell on Unsplash
