Every morning around 8 a.m., I unlock my iPhone and open up my Twitter app. Random retweets, funny pictures, complaining friends and inescapable ads typically fill my newsfeed.
Every once in a while, I will come across a snapshot of an athlete lifting weights at the gym that has an inspirational quote scrolled across the image in cursive. These words of wisdom are a great start for the day. Yes, they can sometimes be extremely cheesy or overdone, but these daily quotes of positivity offer hope and support in a world that sometimes is overwhelming.
I believe reading inspirational quotes can dramatically influence someone’s mindset on the upcoming day, future events or life in general toward a more optimistic tone. Everyone should be incorporating them into their morning routine. After I read these uplifting quotes in the morning, I feel confident, energized and ready to tackle another day of being a college student. Quotes from successful business people, professional athletes and other personal heroes inspire me to stay up the extra hour to study my Spanish homework, make an extra trip to the gym and strive to live a more happy and balanced life.
Between around-the-clock TV news coverage and social media, it’s easy to get lost in depressing stories that seem to be constantly on replay. With all the exposure to negativity, it’s easy to fall into the mindset of, “nothing good ever happens.”
According to University of Sussex professor of psychology Graham Davey in the Psychology Today article, “The psychological effects of TV news,” if the TV program generates negative mood experiences, then these experiences will affect how you interpret events in your own life, what types of memories you recall and how much you will worry.
By dedicating a few minutes every day to reading uplifting, inspirational quotes about life, love, school, work etc., you’re able to maintain a positive personality and outlook.
“When we use social media to help us influence the world in a positive way, it really can help us reach for our highest — and happiest — selves,” Christine Carter, sociologist and happiness expert at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, said in her online article ,”Can Twitter make you happy?”
Living in the 21st century, we are fortunate enough to have the world at our fingertips. This makes incorporating inspiration quotes into our daily lives extremely easy. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are just a few social media options that make inspirational quotes accessible. A new social media app, “Happier,” has taken positivity to a whole new level.
Happier is the first social network to promote positivity in sharing. Happier is similar to Twitter, but only positive messages and quotes are posted for others to see. It provides courses for purchase about meditation and controlling happiness, as well as a place to journal the positive things in a user’s life, and access bite-sized content about joyous things in life. The app is currently available for Apple and Andriod.
It’s important for me to dedicate time each morning to reading these uplifiting stories and to keep up the positive moral throughout the day. A little positive thought can dramatically increase feelings of confidence, energy and optimism. Everyone deserves to have a good day – this can be helped along through inspirational quotes on social media.
Katie Howland is a freshman in mass communications.
