The Philippine Online Chronicles

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Be positive!” has been a mantra people keep on trying to learn, trying to live. Somehow it makes its way to the top of a new year’s resolution list (right after “save more” and “lose weight”), then somewhere along the way it gets lost. Perhaps it’s harder to stay positive than we think. The usual circus that is Philippines politics upsets you once you read the morning paper, or perhaps a negative tweet sours your mood. Wouldn’t it be easier for us Pinoys to be all positive though, especially since we’re one of the happiest countries in the world? Pinoys are also incredibly social, as supported by the country being proclaimed as Asia’s friendliest nation and the world’s 8^th. We’ve got so many things to smile about. With a little help along the way, the Pinoy way, being positive year-round can be done.

Maybe “be positive” is too abstract or too lofty a resolution. The following are steps you can take on the road to positivity. They’re broken down into two action steps to make Pinoy positivity more achievable.

First: Find the good in things before taking them down (if you really have to take them down at all). When the Department of Tourism launched the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign, social media was abuzz. I was keeping tabs of the reveal on Twitter, eager to see how advertising great and DOT secretary Mon Jimenez would revolutionize tourism campaigns. When the slogan was finally shared, there was a lot of positive feedback. “It’s the way we talk!” “I’ve said that line before and it’s true.” “It IS more fun in the Philippines.” Some folks started creating their own lines, such as “Twilight. More fun in the Philippines” . There were no glittery vampires of topless werewolves, just a beautiful image of Boracay at twilight. It was amazing seeing how creative and witty people could get with their lines. What was more amazing was that you realized, well, I realized that there are indeed more fun things to do in the Philippines.

But what’s an advertising campaign without haters? While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I was just disheartened to see a lot of folks lambasting the slogan right then and there. People started comparing it to old tourism campaigns, insisting that the previous ones were better. A copycat issue came out. People started complaining the line was too long. People started bringing out the negatives in the country such as traffic and corruption and would pose the question, “More fun ba yon?”

Frankly, it irritated me. While you can’t please everyone, I was hoping that all the “negatrons” (as my friend labelled them) and “negastars” (as another friend called them) would stop putting the line down. I wanted someone to stand up on a podium and shout out loud, “Before you put the line down, can you think of things or experiences that are more fun in the Philippines?” (I did ask something like that on Twitter, but was pretty much ignored.) My point was that for sure, there must be something you can think of that’s more fun to experience in the country. It was just upsetting how the knee-jerk reaction of a lot of people was to find the negative in the line, heck, in the country.

Why was I so bothered? I wasn’t part of the advertising team behind the creative campaign. Nor was I part of anything DOT-related. I was bothered because I could see the promise in the line, the reality of the line, as a regular citizen, as a Pinoy. It was disheartening to see so much spite instead of feeling more solidarity to help proclaim to the world how true that line is. Because darn it, it IS true. It’s more true than you realize.

Traffic? True, it’s bad. Corruption? Dude, I know, it’s terrible. Almost every country has that problem. Surely you must have experienced something illuminating, maybe something even so simple but so valuable, so much fun here in the Philippines better than other countries.

Crab mentality. It’s another Pinoy trait known around the world that I absolutely hate, but acknowledge to be true based on observations. To the crabs, I tell you, before pulling things down, think of how that thing could stay up. Maybe think of how you could push them up further. It’s more than just positivity. It’s about being productive. It’s about being supportive. It’s about being proactive.

I asked a foreigner, “How would you answer the question ‘What’s more fun in the Philippines?’” He replied, “The parties are fun, the beaches are great, but it’s the people that makes the difference. The people are kinder, are friendlier, are more fun to be with. So I have more fun in the Philippines because of the people.”

I’m guessing he was talking about how we Pinoys are all-smiles and hospitable, how we embrace visitors with such ease and warmth. We are a happy bunch. We are a smiley bunch. We are a warm bunch. It’s great that how a foreigner sees us, I wonder if we see ourselves as the same way.

I just hope that when faced with new things and new experiences, we see the good in them first before breaking them down, if we have to break them down at all.

This applies to all things, whether it’s meeting your brother’s new girlfriend, starting a new project, or listening to other’s opinions. Pinoys, we’re happy people! Let’s put that smile not just on our faces but in our hearts. Cheesy, but it’s true. Make your heart smile more often and you’ll find more good in things.

Second: Declutter, delete, diminish the drama.

What are things you can do without? They can be items in your room, or activities that delay you from getting to work in time during the mornings. Do a check of the things in your life that are holding you back from moving forward. That’s another way to stay on the road to positivity.

A friend of mine has stopped reading the newspaper. When I asked her why, she shares that she thinks a lot of the papers are about “sensationalism to make the newspaper sell better” and that “I just become more afraid.” She hates having to read about kidnappings and disease when she’s about to enjoy her breakfast. So how does she know what’s going on? She’s got her friends, she says, to fill her in. There’s also social media, a venue she prefers to get updates on. “Plus, I shave off time in the morning because I don’t read the newspaper anymore. I can do something else over breakfast like chat with the children or simply enjoy the quiet once they’ve left for school.” She must be doing something right! If she felt that the newspaper just brought about negativity to her life, then out with the paper was her way to go back on the road to positivity. It’s been working for her for the past year, and she remains to be one of the most informed people I know.

Taxi drivers are a source of insights. There was one time I was late for work, and I think he could sense my impatience at the backseat. “Sobrang traffic, ano?,” Manong said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheels to an invisible rhythm. “Marami na ring late. Kasi, ang solusyon lang diyan, gumising nang mas maaga. Eh di hindi male-late.” True. It was that simple. He had a point. It was pure common sense. It all went back to my morning routine anyway, which I decided to trim down after that. I could do something on my own. I can’t fight traffic, but I can wake up earlier. Delete some morning tasks and as simple as that, traffic didn’t give me a headache because there was no traffic when I’d leave for work a half hour earlier. In the end, it’s all about choices again. In this case, choosing which tasks to delete in life in order to move forward.

“Be positive!” is an inspiring mantra and a good guide to how to live daily. When asked the question “HOW can you be positive?”, the above two tasks may help you get on the road to positivity more easily. One, it’s all about perspective. See the good things first before shooting them down. Second, it’s about prioritizing. Delete and declutter things that keep you from moving forward. We’re Pinoys! We’re a happy bunch! This can be done. Let’s just help one another instead of bringing each other down, and positivity can be easier to achieve. Is positivity more fun in the Philippines? Maybe, maybe.

Photo: from liveinthephilippines.com

Toni Tiu is a freelance writer. To stay positive wherever she goes, she brings with her a focal point – a picture of her son in her wallet. When she feels negativity creeping up on her, she brings out the picture and feels calmer, more serene, even saner. Visit her personal blog at Wifelysteps.com.