“Very Important Positivity”: If You Are Feeling Down, These 50 Wholesome Posts Might Make Your Day
Interview
Autumn is nearly out in full force already, and many of you Pandas might be feeling a bit blue. Meanwhile, some of you might be under the weather, others might be worried about the rising cost of, well, everything, the war, and the ongoing pandemic. That’s on top of all the stress you might be facing at work, school, and home. However, life isn’t all completely dreary—there’s a lot of beauty and kindness out there, too. You just have to look closer.
So, in order to give you a well-deserved break from all the problems of the world and to bring a bunch of hope back into your lives, today we’re featuring the best of the best from the ‘Very Important Positivity’ Facebook page. It’s a celebration of everything good about the world, from altruistic people to happy pets, and everything in between.
Now, pick your favorite metaphor, and let’s go find that silver lining and/or remember to turn on the light, shall we? It’s almost impossible not to smile. Upvote your fave pics, and pop down by the comment section to tell us about the best thing that happened to you this week. Oh, and if you know someone who could use a good pick-me-up, be sure to pass this post along to them. There’s practically nothing better than spreading happiness.
Bored Panda reached out to the founder of 'Very Important Positivity,' Elle McGann, who kindly answered our questions about her project. "Initially, it [the page] was created to inspire by sharing people's achievements, allow people to share in the joy of the happy moments in life, and to be an alternative to the negative news and attitudes that can seem all-pervasive in modern life," she told us. Scroll down for our full interview about happiness and optimism, Pandas. And if you enjoyed the posts, make sure to follow the VIP socials.
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Also, not every divorce is due to people hating each other or something. Sometimes a divorce can save a relationship, heck, good friends of mine divorced only 2 years ago and they are best friends, better of than during their marriage.
"I definitely share a broader range of things than I did initially - I realized a momentary break from the world to enjoy a meme, a tweet, or something random that sparks joy really helps nourish the soul," Elle, the founder of the page, told Bored Panda. She revealed to us that she started 'Very Important Positivity' years ago to "stay connected to my audience after leaving my previous page," which was called 'Wholesome Memes.'
Bored Panda was curious to get the VIP page founder's opinion about the reason for the content's success. "I think content that feels good resonates with the joy that exists within us. When we create and share our experiences, it makes them bigger than ourselves—there is no better feeling than making someone laugh, feel lighter, or remain hopeful," Elle said.
"After coming home from Iraq, Tyler's dad had nightmares so bad he feared closing his eyes. Tyler designed a smartwatch app to detect their onset and disrupt them with a gentle vibration. It just won FDA approval to treat PTSD-related nightmare disorders. Wholesome Moments"
"People enjoy content that allows them to forget about negativity, current events, and politics, and enjoy things that make them feel calmer and happier."
According to the creator of 'Very Important Positivity,' the secret to happiness and optimism during tough times is to stop looking for something hidden.
First picture "What are you doing? Get it away from me!" Second picture "I swear, if you so much as lay a finger on my little marshmallow, I'm going to ruin your favorite shoes!"
If people could be more like this, this world would be a much better place.
Yet another example why I love kiddy’s & doggo’s much more than humans.
They know, all right! I do not exaggerate when I say that my dogs have saved my life on more than one occasion, especially the older dog. She is super protective of our entire family!
My beautiful dog was like this with my daughter. He knew I was pregnant before I did. He looked after me every day and being the biggest gsd he was he did that well. His face when we bought our daughter home was amazing. He was so happy and so confused not knowing if he could jump up at me again. He's been gone 5 years now but left the biggest doggy footprints in my heart forever.
Please accept my deepest condolences on the passing of your dear dog 🐶😭💔
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I love that!! I'm glad they had such a special bond. 🙂. Cats can be bog ole love bugs and a best friend in a way that's unique to them. :). Our first cat had a routine that included laying on my chest and belly for snuggles. When I was pregnant, she would not lay in her normal spot. She insisted on snuggling up against me instead. She slept under the crib once when our kids were in it. She would yowl if she felt we took too long when they were crying. Her next step was to jump on one of us if we were sleeping and head butt us between yowling. That was until she discovered the baby monitor. It was just sound because video ones were uncommon and really expensive back then. I kept it loud enough I could hear the baby breathing. She would get up from her spot under the crib and meow right into the baby monitor if one of us didn't immediately appear as soon as the baby cried.
Please accept my deepest condolences on the passing of your first dear sweet kitty 😿😭💔
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I swear cats are able to sense pregnancy. When my SIL was pregnant with my niece my oldest cat would perch above her wherever she went keeping guard. Then when I was pregnant with my son we saw the same behavior. Followed me, kept guard, snuggled my belly in a way he never did before. So loving. But, my ending is sad. After my son was born he was SO allergic to our cats (we had 3). We loved our cats very much but we had to give them away to other homes (no we didn’t abandon them or take them to a shelter, we found them people to love and take care of them). I know pets are important but my son came first, hopefully that doesn’t offend anyone. I have baby pictures of my son snuggled with my cats. They would have been good friends if his little body could have handled it. He is begging for a puppy and I’m really worried he’ll be allergic to it. He’d be so good to it.
So beautiful, my Condolences to the families, especially your niece.
Please accept and send my deepest condolences on the passing of dear sweet Bud 😿😭💔
"I find when I look within and face my pain, stress, or sadness, I’m able to create something that helps myself as well as others, it makes my life worth living. Tough times open the door to peace when you radically accept yourself. You already have what you need inside—joy, optimism, love are an accessible part of you, and when you let them take over, you’re unstoppable. Simply be!"
Over 600k people follow the ‘Very Important Positivity’ Facebook page for a source of laughter, wide smiles, and truly heartwarming content. Life’s never easy, but some periods of time are tougher than others.
How sweet! I know what this is like since I'm autistic, and people are kind enough to treat me like a regular human being.
The past few years, in particular, have been very difficult for a lot of people. Naturally, many folks might be feeling exhausted not just physically but also emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually. And while some soul-healing memes aren’t the solution to all of life’s problems, they might just restore a bit of your faith in humanity and make you feel better about the state of the world for a few minutes. Heck, they might even inspire you to be kinder than usual today.
Here at Bored Panda, we genuinely think that laughter and (realistic) optimism can help people get through the darkest of times. It’s about finding a balance where you’re hoping for the best and taking actionable steps to make things better, while avoiding toxic positivity and total pessimism.
It’s fine to be realistic about what we can and cannot change. Healthy, even. But it’d be wrong to equate that to feelings of powerlessness. Small acts of kindness reach farther than we might expect them to. Kindness begets more kindness. And small collective actions towards a brighter future add up very quickly.
When we give others a helping hand, we’re also taking care of our happiness at the same time. The friendly team at ‘Action for Happiness’ explained to Bored Panda during an earlier interview that there are 10 keys to happier living: “Giving, relating, exercising, awareness, trying out, direction, resilience, emotions, acceptance, and meaning. We are likely to be happier if our lives have direction, meaning, and purpose and if we are part of something bigger than ourselves.”
If you’d like to invite more kindness into your life and don’t know where to start, you can always the people closest to you. Perhaps you might be able to help your neighbor with something. Or volunteer in your local area. Start off small, focus on the things you’re grateful for, and look for opportunities to lend someone a helping hand.
“When we do things for others it activates the reward center in the brain, so when we give a gift it feels the same as receiving a gift," the team at ‘Action for Happiness’ told us earlier, adding that kindness is the “social glue that keeps us together” as a society. Humans are a very social species after all.
Some ideas for being altruistic range from giving money to charity and donating to a food bank to volunteering for a cause or leaving a food package or a cheery note for an elderly neighbor. It all depends on the time and other resources you have available.
"Father overhears his son telling his boyfriend he plans to come out, so he left him this note..."
“All of these actions help others and boost your own happiness and if we are happier, research shows we are even more likely to help others,” the AfH team said.
It’s perfectly fine to ‘fake it till you make it’ if kindness doesn’t come naturally to you or if you constantly think about the rewards of helping others. It’s a skill that you can learn.
Same with my aunt. Died last year at the age of 80 but she's forever on Google checking the mail while taking a break from mowing.
Six people were a match and here is an update. "Oscar had been receiving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia since 2018, initially at Birmingham Children's Hospital, before the family made the decision to go to Singapore for the CAR-T therapy, which was not available to him on the NHS. The treatment is specifically developed for individual patients and involves reprogramming their immune system cells, which are then used to target their cancer." (they received £500,000 through crowdfunding in order to do this and have since returned home - he has additional treatments going forward. June 2021)
“Maybe at first, you start out doing things to help others only to get attention and praise, but you will find that doing things for others helps you feel good and when you see people’s responses. Once you see the difference you can make in the world and to your own happiness and altruism can grow naturally.”
"I noticed a guy on Fb that was better than me at mounting TVs so instead of hating on him, I reached out and offered to pay him to teach me how to perfect my craft. He didn't accept the money, instead we formed a partnership and the rest is history. Brothers don't hate, we elevate each other."
This one always bugs me on the rare occasions I go clothes shopping. The exercise stuff, or leggings or sports bras…never go up to plus sizes. Gimme something I can wear to my physio appointments!
A clear red flag back when I was dating (been married nearly 20 years) was anyone who mocked my hobbies and collections or said anything about how I should get rid of them or ‘grow up’. My husband has his collections, I have mine, and we make space for each other’s even if we don’t understand them.
"My sister had her first son today, I caught a rare moment between two fathers"
"My uncle and grandma on their way to a pride parade in the '80s"
Oh this, this really got to me. What a beautiful picture of love and support. Don’t judge others if we’re LGBTQ, just accept we’re as much people as you are.
Note: this post originally had 125 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
I don't care of some of these are reposts. It's just so good to read heartwarming things because I get so sad at some of the depressing things we see every day.
With all the idiotic nonsense and c**p that goes on... sometimes I wonder if these posts should be less closely "culled" or curated ... (noting the "This post used to be 125 images" note at the bottom). It's nice to have a feelgood post to "deal" with the built up negativity other things incur.
Here's my positive moment: During the serious part of the pandemic, I was out shopping when some stranger approached me smiling. I could tell he was smiling because he wasn't wearing a mask. He says with a grin: "You're a gullible idiot for wearing a mask! They cause cancer, and I bet you got vaccinated too! You know those are a plot to wwwheeeeeeg!!!". That last bit was the sound he made when my foot got introduced to mr. crotch. Seemed pretty positive to me.
You violently attacked a stranger for having a different opinion to you. And you think this belongs in a 'wholesome posts' article.
Load More Replies... I don't care of some of these are reposts. It's just so good to read heartwarming things because I get so sad at some of the depressing things we see every day.
With all the idiotic nonsense and c**p that goes on... sometimes I wonder if these posts should be less closely "culled" or curated ... (noting the "This post used to be 125 images" note at the bottom). It's nice to have a feelgood post to "deal" with the built up negativity other things incur.
Here's my positive moment: During the serious part of the pandemic, I was out shopping when some stranger approached me smiling. I could tell he was smiling because he wasn't wearing a mask. He says with a grin: "You're a gullible idiot for wearing a mask! They cause cancer, and I bet you got vaccinated too! You know those are a plot to wwwheeeeeeg!!!". That last bit was the sound he made when my foot got introduced to mr. crotch. Seemed pretty positive to me.
You violently attacked a stranger for having a different opinion to you. And you think this belongs in a 'wholesome posts' article.
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