Chapter 5: A Parkinson’s Reading Companion on Positivity

”Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

“You can not have a positive life and a negative mind.” Joyce Meyer

Introduction: In 2015, I  posted a blog entitled “Words Worth Living” (to read it click here). The theme of the post revolved around quotes of inspiration. One of the exercises in my undergraduate course, “Biology of Blood Diseases”, is something called “Thought-filled Responses”  (the class also expressed their thoughts about cancer and HIV/AIDS). For this thought, the 62 students were asked to submit one quote on five (or more) of the following: hope, courage, journey, persistence, positivity, strength, adversity, mindfulness, and life. What to do with >300 quotes?  My original idea was to re-visit the above blog and post several quotes on the meaning of each word as chosen by the class. However, a great suggestion from a student was to  somehow include all of their quotes. If you have been reading along, this is Chapter 5 (of 9) of “A Parkinson’s Reading Companion”. This current post is Chapter 5 including all of their quotes about ‘positivity’ [click here to read Chapter 1 (hope); click here to read Chapter 2 (life); click here to read Chapter 3 (strength); click here to read Chapter 4 (adversity)].

Positivity and Parkinson’s: Your life is altered when given the news that you have a progressive neurodegenerative disorder like Parkinson’s. An important and constant theme of this blog  is remaining positive throughout the ups and down of this disorder.  There will be moments when you’re having a difficult time that your mindset turns negative; however,  I believe that’s when you need to be most positive in dealing with Parkinson’s. Our lives are  different now than they were before Parkinson’s and using positivity will allow us to creatively handle many obstacles ahead. May these quotes on positivity reinforce your attitude to stay positive against this unremorseful disorder.

Positivity:  I am pleased to present Chapter 5 about positivity with my co-authors: Angle, Hannah; Arthur, Kallie; Artov, Michael; Bagley, Kendall; Batista, Kayla; Blaylock, Allison; Byrd, Emory; Cabell, Grant; Catalano, Michael; Clark, Kendall; Cossaart, Kristen; Culpepper, Houston; Das, Snigdha; Davis, Eric; Defazio, Stephanie; Doudnikoff, Alex; Dua, Shawn; Evans, Jessica; Evick, Andrew; Farooque, Tazeen; Ford, Kelsey; German, Zachary; Gouveia, Katie; Hall, Nikita; Isler, Victoria; Kirkley, Joel; Koutleva, Elitza; Laudun, Katie; Le, Kevin; Little, Sarah; Mackey, Josselyn; Macon, Briana; Maddox, Kaity; Marquino, Grace; Mattox, Daniel; Mcknight, Kyle; Mcmanus, Brenna; Mcshane, Sarah; Monkiewicz, Caroline; Nguyen, Michelle; Nguyen, Teresa; Olinger, Emily; Patel, Darshan; Patel, Dilesh; Patel, Jenny; Perez, Abby; Peters, Daniel; Quirin, Julia; Rawlins, Shelby; Raynor, Nathan; Renn, Matt; Scott, Alicia; Sherry, Alex; Shin, Christine; Stanton, Kate; Story, Charlotte; Swango, Summer; Szyperski, Caroline; Windley, Taylor; Wooley, Caleb; Xu, Alice; Yang, Michelle.

“You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” -Winnie the Pooh

“And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery …and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything” -Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” Lyndon B. Johnson

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” Helen Keller

“Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys” Rita Schiano

“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” Roald Dahl

“The important thing is not how long you live. It’s what you accomplish with you life. While I live, I want to shine. I want to prove that I exist. If I could do something really important…that would definitely carry on into the future…And so, if I were to disappear…I think all that I have accomplished will go on. That is…That would mean…that it’s living, right?” Grovyle, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky

Success isn’t about what you accomplish in your life, it’s about what you inspire others to do.”

“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein

“Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.” Esther 4:14

“Don’t dig up in doubt what you planted in faith.” Elisabeth Elliot

“This old world we’re livin’ in is might hard to beat. We get a thorn with every rose but ain’t the roses sweet.” Stanton

“Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” Joseph Campbell

“Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” Elbert Hubbard

“If you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong.” Groucho Marx

“The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mode of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change; happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up.” Charles L. Morgan

“I think if you just look at life in a positive way, positive things will happen” Jake Owen

“So far from forgetting this blessed place, I think my picture of it grows clearer every year: It was as close to magic as I’ve ever been.” Thomas Wolfe, UNC alum

“Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.” Alice Morse Earle

“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” Dalai Lama

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” from the Harry Potter books

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” Dr. Seuss 

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their own dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchhill

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind” Dr. Seuss 

“Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.” Michael Jordan

“I believe in the person I want to become.” Lana Del Rey

“Whatever comes today, look it in the eye, take a deep breath, and say to yourself “I got this”. Don’t let anything get the better of you until you’ve given it the best of you.” (from a dear friend, Randy Mullis)

“I am and always will be the optimist, the hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams.” The Doctor (11th Doctor) from “Doctor Who”

“So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.” Carl Spackler, Caddyshack (1980)

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” Willie Nelson

“If you want to be happy, be.” Leo Tolstoy

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. “Anne Frank

“The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed.” Maya Angelou

Cover photo credit: http://www.inopictures.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Beach-At-Sunset-Pics.jpg

Positive-Negative Sign credit: http://www.leadershipwithsass.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/iStock_000029458050Small-Resize.jpg and http://previews.123rf.com/images/lambros/lambros1105/lambros110500137/9495584-positive-the-dictionary-project-macro-shots-shallow-D-O-F–Stock-Photo.jpg