Hi fellow adventurers! :D
I've been thinking a lot about how fickle positivity can be, how it always seems be easier to fall into a negative thought pattern than it is a positive one.
And when we do get into the groove of positive thinking everyday, or we read motivational quotes or listen to affirmations, it can start to feel oversaturated. I always found that strange, how is it that we can get bored of positivity? Like, I've seen it both in myself and other people. Just like how so many of us have an inner critic, but not an inner cheerleader for example.
So the real question becomes: how do we keep the positivity we have from fading? or nurturing the inner cheerleader?
The answer will differ from person to person, of course.
But I think I have found part of the answer for myself, at the moment anyway, in ff14.
I've been playing ff14 a lot more lately (it being winter and all), and have been doing lots of Trials to earn some gil and also to take breaks from the msq. And I noticed something.
If I've been having a bad day or am feeling down, fighting a big bad boss in a Trial with others has always seemed to pick me up again. Now, I know that those kinds of things release the happy hormones and all that. But hear me out (lol).
I have always had a strong imagination, and I figure that it was time to use it in a different way. If fighting the big bad boss helped in keeping my inner critic from chatting away (surprisingly even if I had a bad run), then why not make the inner critic/negative emotion the big bad boss with the power of visualization?
And you know what? It has been working!
Because Trials are not always easy, but not impossibly hard either, it feels like the perfect back and forth battle. AND you win in the end, even if you get knocked down or have to try again (not including extreme trials, those are on a different level! Lol!)
Also, you are not fighting alone, you have other WoL with you too. I feel like that's an important aspect as well, that you are not fighting your big bad boss on your own, you have support.
It will be interesting to see how long this strategy will last in soothing the inner critic, meanwhile finding other complimentary things irl as well (because that is also very important).
Anyroad! I just wanted to share this cool discovery that has been working for me! ^-^
I hope you are all doing well!
Wishing you all the very best! <3