How Much Negativity In Life Is Enough?

In a routine life, there is not much negativity or positivity around. A normal person is, at least, in peace - if not completely enthusiastic or depressed on any given day. The intensity and magnitude of emotions showed to any particular incident decides whether it's going to be a suffering, joy or equinamity post that incident. Coming to suffering or pain, some of it in life is necessary and is must. It cannot be completely taken out from anyones' life by any kind of power. Some people are calm and joyful most of the times and some are mostly miserable without any reason. In a society, personalities of all kind exist.

As a society we live in small packets comprising all types of people. At a given time, one or the other in that packet must face good or bad things in life. Depending on that, persons' mental state is expected to be joyful or sorrowful. If mind is full of joy - wonderful! If mind is calm and composed - great!

If calmness is straight line then joy falls on positive axis and sorrow falls on negative axis. Any human being on this earth doesn't have any issue with the positive axis. The problem lies with the negative axis i.e., pain and suffering.

Then how much negativity is enough in life?

Before we answer to this question let's know something that is necessary (I feel) to know about.

Thoughts and Emotions

Terrible things happen to everyone and wonderful things too - no one is excluded. Observe your own life, terrible and wonderful things happen/ed occasionally. The rest of the time, its a normal situation but, people suffer terribly for prolonged period. Prolongness of pain and suffering is decided by the intensity and magnitude of emotions that's being invested in a particular event. Naturally, time heals most of these wounds - if there is not much of intervention from outside. Thoughts and Emotions are highly interconnected and the major factors that decide the emotional state. This is the first part.

If everything depends on the situation, then what's the use of human potential or possibilities?

Cause- Action - Effect

The Space, Time and Personality (for time being we can say mindset) govern the thoughts and emotions. It can't be denied that ones' surroundings (space and time) shape the thoughts. There is something known as Cause- Action - Effect (or consequence). This is the second part.

Information digestion

Third part is Brain. Brain requires a minimum time to digest/process any particular event/information (good or bad). Knowledge is the product of digestion of a particular information. That particular knowledge helps a man to make decisions (here human develops a descriminative power). Based on how best/worst an individual make use of the knowledge and descriminative power decides the personality (joyful/calm/sorrowful etc).

Remember, mind is always wondering. Mind, with the help of information available in memory and information gathered by the sense organs generate thoughts. Thoughts inturn generates emotions and this cycle continues. This is one of the main reasons behind psychologists suggest patients to develop a hobby - it is to promote involvement in one single activity. It's a passive method to cease ever wandering mind. It's a passive way to have control over mind-thoughts-emotions.

People mentally suffer mainly because of uncontrolled emotions. These emotions are decided by an outside event, inside information and knowledge. One must learn to descriminate between thoughts to prevent suffering. Descrimination power helps to chose among continuously generating thoughts. The very moment a thought becomes action, there are consequences of it.

Social Media Algorithms and Human Behavior

The algorithms used by social media are built after precise understanding of human emotions and thought processes. These algorithms are perfectly matching with the human mind-emotion-thought process. That is why people get addicted and respond to it. Pictures, videos of an incident and voice modulations of an anchor on social media and media along with the (well thought) background music affecting the mental health. Happy?- they make money, Depressed? -they make money. It's their business model. Nature of mind and habits are the foundations of their business model. There is more of bad happening than good to human race.

Information Intake > Digestive Capacity of Mind

As said earlier, brain requires a minimum time to process information. And mind is always wandering and curious - looking for new things every second (love scrolling?). Imabalance happens here. In a way, rapid intake of information is what making people mentally sick. The human mind cannot process the incoming information so fast (scrolling speed). Social media is bringing in new information every second and every piece of information in the form of a picture, videos, and musics that provokes thoughts and emotions to respond quickly. Information coming on social media provokes viewer to actively engage with emotions for all those events that are neither created by the viewer nor related to viewer. 99.99% of the shown information is not at all under the control of viewer or viewer is not at all the reason for that in any way. Viewer actively responds to it hence, develops negative emotions.

For no reason viewer starts comparing own life with others unconsciously. That is the reason why most are suffering from mental health and working hard (on social media) to keep it healthy. Most of the time, social media dampens the rate of cure. People are taking information and emotions way faster than an individual's mind could ever take. There is a total imbalance of Thoughts - Emotions - Reality - Information Processing Speed. It creates confusion or kind of complexity within. This complexity hinders the decision making capacity but enhances rapid response behavior. This is also one of reasons why younger generation are victims of extreme idealism that is trying to build a perfect society.

To understand this more clearly, observe your mind while using social media first and then without using social media for a week's time. In real life, none of us would want any additional responsibility of parents, neighbor, work, or office but we would love to serve or raise voice for a crying man who is 1000 miles away from us. How much practical it is?

Instead of focussing on the work that is assigned to us, we are trying to think of someone else's pain while doing work who is again 1000 miles away. How much practical it is?

Life Is Not A Function of Space and Time

In the last four years of my travel to five countries, I have met many travelers and local people who are (mostly) away from social media and media. Believe me, I have learned and seen them enjoying every sip of country beer and also suffering very little on worst toilet facilities. They taught me living in the present without taking much loads. It doesn't mean they are heartless. Almost all of them are kind, happy, and helpful. It's just that live in a moment - your moment.