A Metaphor for Positivity

Recently, I've been using my Amazon Kindle Scribe to create notes and drawings. The stylus handwriting feature allows users to combine sketches with short comments. I'm not a very good artist and my handwriting is sloppy, as you can see, but I like this medium as it allows me to present my ideas in a visual way.

The above metaphor came to mind as I was encouraging a patient who was having a difficult time staying positive, and this person indicated that they really wanted to remain positive. After listening to the patient's concerns, I affirmed that trying to elicit positivity can be a struggle when life seems barren of hope. Indeed, it can feel similar to using an old, hand pump in order to get some water. In both situations, it takes intense, continual effort to get the desired result.

But if one makes it a goal and keeps at it, success can be achieved. And as a bonus, the energy you put into this type of work not only pays off for you, it benefits others as well. Just like the water you get from a hand pump, when you work on being a positive person, you get to share that as well. And more often than not, your hard-earned positivity refreshes everyone.

Credit: (Image of woman by hand pump created by Gemini Advanced.) AI was not used in any way to write this post. The poor handwriting and grammatical mistakes are all mine.