From the second you open your eyes in the morning to the second they find rest again at night, you have successfully made it through another day. You can congratulate yourself, maybe even give yourself a pat on the back, but you know you'll be preparing for the next day ahead of you when you open your eyes in the morning once again. What's in a day? Around 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts in real talk. It makes sense. Humans think a lot. We think about what we want to eat, what we want to wear, what we want to do with the short 24 hours that are given to us each day. There's also thoughts like what needs to get done and what are important goals that should be accomplished. Those go hand in hand with thoughts of distraction, a catchy song or a certain person you can't seem to get unstuck from the depths of your mind. From these thousands of thoughts, most of them are actually negative. Why do we tend to be so negative? Is it easier to be negative than positive? What does it mean to be positive?

The problem with positivity becomes more evident through the media. For example, it is there when you turn on the news. Instances of crime and violence make better stories. Part of this is due to the fact that negative events are more memorable and impactful. The same issue can be seen again through platforms such as twitter and tumblr.

What kind of society are creating if we vocalize the negatives and disqualify the positives? We complain about society, yet we are society. We are the people that make up this generation and raise the next. At times it feels like there's so much negativity in the world and not enough positivity. Through social media it seems that 2016 has been the year that just out right sucks. There have been disturbing shootings, unfavorable elections, and more stress put on the issue of global warming. Despite these unfortunate events, there still have been great, notable events throughout this year. Pandas are no longer endangered. There was an ALS research breakthrough. There now is a spacecraft in Jupiter's orbit. Child mortality is down. The ozone layer is beginning to heal itself. The 2016 Olympics featured more female athletes than ever before. In other words, 2016 has been a great year.

Positivity is powerful. Positivity is important. Positivity gives us strength. Sometimes I'll randomly send messages to friends and family telling them that they are great, they are worthy, and that I appreciate them. Other times I'll receive messages from them telling me to have a great day. Even though those are little things, they can make someone's day. It's the little things like greeting, complimenting, opening doors, and smiling.

It boggles my mind that so many thoughts we have are more negative than positive. It does seem to be difficult to be positive sometimes. We don't always want to look on the bright side of things. But what kind of society do we want to be? What kind of person do you want to be? What kind of life do you want to live? Think about it. A new year is coming up, giving us the opportunity to bring in more positivity into 2017. From the second you open your eyes in the morning to the second they find rest again at night, you have successfully made it through another day. You can congratulate yourself, maybe even give yourself a pat on the back, but stay positive.