This may sound hippy-ish, but we need to spread more love in the world.

Every time I turn the news on, listen to talk radio, read a headline, really view any media, it is always negative. Always negative. Maybe once in a blue moon a news will have a marine returning home to his family after a long deployment – but that is very far and few. Good news doesn’t sell, bad news does. And when we think about the fact that what goes into our mind, comes out in our actions, we live in a negative world.

The people I run into that are genuinely happy in their life, like the story of the marine returning home, is far and few. Everyone else seems to walk around with their head in the ground pissed off at the world.

And I don’t blame them given all the horrid stories going on in our life.

But I want to change it. I want people to be filled with passion for life. I want people to be excited for what they are doing.

One of the easiest ways I know to start this process is stop being against something and start being for something.

Being against something is easy – anyone can do it. It is easy to hate something and be negative against it. Everyone seems to be against something.

In the hopes of spreading more positivity and love in the world, I need you to be FOR something. I need you to support a cause, not go against something like the masses do.

Promote What You Love Instead Of Bashing What You Hate

I was reminded of this today, which sparked this post. Ellen Degeneres, posted a video today about her talking to an article written about her. Some pastor wrote an article to the Christian Post about how he thinks hollywood’s has a gay agenda. Again, if you don’t know Ellen, she is gay. The original article (read it here) was full of information how we should be AGAINST the gay agenda of Hollywood. Ellen’s rebutle (watch it here) shows that she is FOR kindness and compassion.

If the original article’s author spent the time writing an article for what he is FOR, it would have a far different effect. Instead of creating hate and bigotry like it does now, it could have created a positive approach to his efforts and may even made an impact in the world (gasp!). Ellen could have said she was AGAINST bible-thumping bigots, but she instead said she was FOR compassion and kindness, spreading a message for many to hear, be open and hopefully adopt.

Makes a big different on the approach, and regardless of how you or I feel on the actual issues above, the point remains the same: We need to start being FOR more and SUPPORTING a cause rather than spreading the negativity that being AGAINST something brings.

This is hard to do. So many issues swirl around our world regarding race, religion, and orientation that it is easy to just say “Oh – I don’t like that so I am against it” and hiding behind a blanket statement rather than taking a stand and truly deciding what you support in the world.

Gay marriage is a big one for me. So many people I know are against gay marriage, but when I try to ask them what they support, they say “not gay marriage”. That is a statement full of hate, full of fear, and full of the easy way out of a conversation.

Look – I know this isn’t something you can do overnight, but I just want you to get the wheels turning. When you support something, you send out positivity. And you are doing the same thing as being against something, just in the opposite. Plus, if we can put the same energy into support a cause as we do being against a cause, we may actually start making change in this world that is full of negativity.

Be the change in the world you want to see.

And if I want to start seeing changes in the world (and I desperately do for the sake of my son), I need to practice what I preach.

Here are some examples from my own playbook (be the change).

I am FOR making your own life.

I am FOR happiness.

I am FOR being my own hero.

I am FOR being equals.

I am FOR protecting yourself should someone try to do you harm.

I am FOR the right to speak but also the right to listen.

I am FOR getting ahead in life should you put in the time and dedication into getting ahead in life.

I am FOR reaping the benefits (all of them) of my own hard work.

I am FOR love.

It is important as your write your FOR statements, you just don’t think about what you are against and say the opposite. Really think about what you support, what you are for. In reality, no one should really associate what you are against with what you are for, because what you are for doesn’t really go 1:1 with what you are against.

Think about my last statement “I am for love”. Is that because I am against war? Against violence on others? Against hatred & bigotry? Against discrimination? Maybe one – maybe all. That isn’t the point.

Look at that line. That was at least 5 things I am against. All the negativity drawing to the word against 5 times.

What I am really for is love. That blanket statement gives me something to support. Gives me something to work for. Gives me something to hold on to and make a change. Being against something doesn’t allow me to do all that.

My challenge to you: Write what you are FOR and leave it in the comments. Really think about this when you do it. Again – don’t just think of what you are against and flip. Think about the world – your world – and tell me what you support, what you are for, what you strive to change about the world that you can get behind.

And next time some discussion comes up, I want you to bite your tongue when you think about saying “I am against ____”. Think about it and say what you are FOR. And maybe that will spark a conversation with the person you are talking with, and they will do the same, then they will do the same in another conversation and before you know it – we have a movement. And no movement would be complete without a hashtag:

#IAmFor

Be for something – support something – and let’s change the world.