Our positivity candles are the perfect gift you need

Someone once told me that love isn’t defined as a feeling, it is an action. You have to actively love someone for it to be realised. That’s exactly how I view positivity too. Unlike other, more naturally occurring emotions like joy, comfort, excitement etc, positivity is a mindset. It may feel easy to have a moment of positivity when something good happens or someone says the right thing, but it requires energy, action and commitment to stay positive - especially in these difficult times.

Enter the power of words.

 

Positive affirmations are the perfect gift

Affirmations can be defined as positive phrases or statements used to challenge negative or unhelpful thoughts. The theory behind them is self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988), which is based on the idea that we can maintain our sense of self-integrity or self-efficacy by telling ourselves what we believe in positive ways. As people, we are motivated to protect ourselves by maintaining our self-integrity so these phrases relate to our ability to respond flexibly when our chosen mindset is threatened. 

In total basic and much more understandable terms, positive affirmations help us respond in a less defensive or resistant way when we’re presented with negativity or emotional threats. They make us more resilient to difficulties when they arise and help encourage an optimistic mindset. 

My own personal experience of positivity was that the right words from someone, or the right affirmations put in front of me, went a long way to giving me the energy I needed for that elusive positive mindset. I’ve always been a fan of humour and wit when it comes to affirmations so any chance i got, i would have notebooks with ‘Get Your Shit Done’, ‘It's Time To Be Happy’ or my personal favourite, a cartoon dinosaur saying ‘Bite Me’ in comically large letters. When the opportunity presented itself I would make sure everyone in the room saw these - setting the tone for how I spoke and how I was in control of my headspace. I even had two post-it notes on my computer with my takes on quotes I had seen online that read; 

“Did you really have a bad day or did you have 10 minutes where you let your thoughts run away into a negative space? Come on bitch, you run this shit.”

“Have a drink of water you beautiful, intelligent, dehydrated bitch”

Suffice to say, people in the office found them amusing (some even said they were inspirational) and I became known for them - which was fine by me because that was the energy I needed to keep my positive mindset. Affirmations are traditionally spoken and repeated but reading them and displaying them prominently can also be incredibly effective.

 

Impolite Design was born from this. Finding phrases that people had said to me or I had said myself which may not have been the most appropriate or polite but that meant something and cut through all the bullshit. Affirmations that I could share through gorgeously designed products sitting in people’s homes and that might be the show of support or the exact words that someone needs to hear. Honest, straight-talking positivity.

The lesson is, when we can deal with the negative shit and replace it with something positive, we create a more hopeful narrative and basically can achieve anything we damn-well want.