It has been a challenging couple of years, no doubt, with all the disruption the pandemic has caused and the economic, mental, and emotional struggle it has brought with it. As a by-product of this disruption, our world seemed to have shifted to virtual reality, and we all found ourselves submerged in a cuasi meta-verse we have not yet completely exited from, now that we are gradually going back to normal. One recurrent theme has been positivity, with tons of positivity messages pushed our way on nearly every social platform we know. This raised a question between me and, regarding how beneficial is this overflow of positivity and whether it becomes toxic at a certain point or not. For that, I had the honor to discuss the subject with coach Lara Darwish, who is an Educator and Life Coach specializing in leadership skills and emotional intelligence.
Q. What do you think of the term positivity?
“I like the term positivity. I associate it with happy and joyous people, there are positivity quotes all over social media and I think it’s to a certain point cool. Nevertheless, I personally prefer the term optimism, optimism is looking into the future through a lens of hope and it is this hope that keeps us going in the current moment. Sometimes, we are simply not able to have a positive attitude at a given moment, perhaps we are grieving or dealing with a major life-changing event that has us heads over heels consumed with worry. So being told to be positive might simply not be helpful and could even be counterproductive, making us feel guilty about what we are really feeling, instead of finding a judgment-free space to channel it in a healthy way. So, I sense the word optimism comes free of expectation on how we should project ourselves, it’s this invisible yet so powerful thing we harbor from within, which fuels our patience and hope for a better tomorrow.”
Q. How do you keep yourself so optimistic?!
“ I strongly believe that we are capable of shaping our lives and future by taking active steps in the present that lead us there. I do my best at any given moment, with all the tools and knowledge I have, and I consider those my resources. After that, I surrender all I have, I sit back confident and let life take its course. We definitely cannot control certain things, so doing our best gives us peace of mind in addition to self-respect.”
This woman certainly exudes lots of positive energy and optimism! Lara is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in education and writing her first book which she deems as a personal experience of how she turned pain into her superpower.
To connect with Lara Darwish, find her here and here.
