Resilience for reinvention and change

Keywords

Resilience - Change – Growth – Reinvention – Mental Health – Social Media

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled Nina Sossamon-Pogue, shares her diverse career journey, from being part of the USA gymnastics team to a being a news anchor and Emmy award winning journalist. Nina discusses the importance of change, resilience, and adaptability for personal growth and innovation, with a focus on embracing novelty and maintaining a positive outlook. She also talks about the challenges women face in the US, strategies for managing mental health and social media in the face of criticism, and the implications of social media on public discourse and personal privacy.

Main topics

• Why we resist change but need to embrace it for personal and professional growth

• Reinvention and its significance in our lives

• How setbacks or changes can prompt a recalculation of route to something new

• The challenges women face in the US in relation to societal expectations and the role of media

• Managing mental health and social media in the face of bullying and negative comments

• The implications of social media on public discourse and personal privacy.

• Learning from past mistakes and focusing on strengths.

 Action items

You can find out more about Nina at https://www.ninasossamonpogue.com/ or through LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram 

 You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
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Social media and the rise of toxic positivity.

During the pandemic many people found that maintaining a positive outlook helped them to cope. However, positivity can be a two-edged sword and, whilst it’s generally good for our mental health, unrelenting optimism or ‘toxic positivity’ can make us feel a whole lot worse.

The phrase ‘toxic positivity’ refers to the excessive and unhealthy promotion of positive thinking and the denial, invalidation, or suppression of negative emotions or experiences. It occurs when people are encouraged to always maintain a positive attitude, even in the face of genuine challenges, difficulties, or hardships. No matter how bad a situation looks, positivity needs to be maintained and anything that triggers a negative emotion must be rejected.

This pressure to always maintain a positive attitude can be exacerbated by social media platforms where people showcase their accomplishments, happy moments, and positive experiences. A constant stream of curated content can create unrealistic expectations and make others feel inadequate or flawed if their lives don't match up. Seeing other people’s seemingly perfect lives can create a sense of pressure to portray oneself in the same way and lead to feelings of inadequacy and anxiety. As content users share will favour positive experiences and achievements, the illusion that everyone's lives are consistently positive and perfect further reinforces toxic positivity.

Because social media platforms thrive on likes, comments, and shares, users may seek validation and approval through positive feedback and engagement resulting in a tendency to focus on presenting a positive image to garner more attention and affirmation. This further perpetuaties toxic positivity and encourages the dismissal or invalidation of negative emotions. People may feel pressured to quickly move past challenges or hardships, suppressing their true feelings in favour of maintaining a positive image which can lead to a lack of emotional authenticity and hinder genuine connection and support.

It is important to remember that social media itself is not inherently toxic or negative. It can be a powerful tool for connecting, sharing experiences, and spreading positivity. However, the way in which it is used and the behaviours it can encourage may contribute to the perpetuation of toxic positivity, so it is essential people are mindful of these influences and cultivate a healthy balance between sharing positivity and acknowledging the full range of human emotions and experiences.

Whilst negative emotions are seen as a failure or weakness and are unpleasant and hard to deal with, they are important and need to be dealt with openly and honestly and although it’s undeniably a good thing to look on the bright side and be grateful for what we have, it’s also important to acknowledge and listen to our emotions – even when they’re not as pleasant.