The Disease Called Negativity

Several months ago Hollywood studios released a blockbuster film that is currently up for several awards called Contagion. With heavy hitters like Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne as the main cast, they attempt to follow a web of infected individuals as a pandemic erupts across the world. This incredibly strong strand of flu virus that seems to originate from an animal spreads like wild-fire from the shores of Hong Kong, San Francisco, Chicago and everywhere in between. Day of our lives we are only a few steps from a disease that can take us out. In recent reports on news outlets we have witnessed firsthand the dangers of bacteria and germs that find their way into our homes and on our foods. This got me thinking about another airborne disease that gets very little ‘press’; the germ of negativity! It’s a scary thought that every person we meet could be a carrier of the disease of negativity. And worse, these infected could pass it on to travelers, hospitals, schools, churches and cause a widespread panic. Every sneeze is causing suspicion as to whether or not you are the next victim.

Negativity is defined as: an unpleasantness, lacking positive or constructive features. This can potentially describe most of the people we communicate with on a daily basis, or sometimes ourselves. All you have to do is look at a local news show and realize the ratio of positive and negative reports are grossly disproportioned. While we have done all we can with hand sanitizer and flu shots, we have neglected to protect ourselves from the deadliest disease of all. There are no statistics to show the amount of dreams, visions and potential that has been destroyed by the illness of negativity. Just as with any disease, knowledge, prevention and a little precaution will go a long way to keep you symptom free.

Here are a couple of daily tasks you can use to keep the disease of NEGATIVITY away:

(1) Understand that everyone is a potential ‘carrier’: Most people are not deranged enough to go around and sneeze on you purposely to have you contract their germs. But let’s be for real, accidents happen. Saying ‘sorry’ will not undo the fact that you now have a severe cold because someone at work used your phone, coughed on you or the likes. So if they are not aware of how contagious they are, you have to be!

(2) Keep your own sanitation devices handy: Sometimes we are just unaware of what’s going on around us. By this I mean I cannot even count the times someone with a cold has picked up my phone, typed on my keyboard etc, even after I asked them not to. Which means I have to sanitize my own equipment because someone else forgot. But if I didn’t, only I would be to blame for not taking the proper precautions.

(3) Recognize even the most subtle symptoms: Isn’t it funny how people down play their own illnesses? You see them sniffling but when you ask they reply that it is nothing. It may be ‘nothing’ to them, but you can’t afford another sick day! This means you have to take your well-being into your own hands. Even at the expense of their feelings, you have to preserve yourself. It’s not being rude to ask someone to take a few steps back if you know they have a fever right?!?

Notice the symptoms of the Flu (according to the CDC) are; fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. All of which are an internal breakdown that begin to exhibit themselves externally. Be careful my friends, those ‘hosts’ that carry this ‘NEGATIVITY’ bug have very similar symptoms that you internalize and it eventually eats away your immune system. A ‘spoiler alert’ for Contagion is the scientist worked tirelessly to discover the patterns and weaknesses of the germ as well as its origin. Once they discovered this, they were able to successfully draft an antidote for the masses. The only inoculation available for negativity is the right attitude about your past, life and the struggles you face. Get your shot TODAY!

See you at the TOP!
Early Jackson