Accentuate The Positive
By: Campbell Owen, LMFT-A
A few weeks back I traveled to Louisiana to see some friends and catch an LSU football game. While I was back, I heard a song on the radio that I hadn’t heard since my childhood, “Accentuate the Positive” performed by Dr. John. In addition to flooding my brain with memories of my childhood, it perfectly encapsulates a state of mind I think the world could use a little bit more of. As the non-medical doctor John says, “if you wanna hear my story, then just chill out, don't be uptight, while I review the attitude of doing right.”
If jazz covers of old songs are not your jam, don’t worry, I’ll explain why this song resonated with me to save you the trouble. The song encourages us, as the title suggests, to focus on and emphasize the good or “the positive” while minimizing the negative. As a solution focused therapist, accentuating or focusing on the positive should be like second nature to me. In many ways, it is, but even I fall short sometimes. In the world today, it can be extremely easy to get swept up in all the negativity. Sometimes it can feel like no matter where we turn, all we find is negativity and pain. While we can’t completely avoid negative emotions, we don’t have to let them dictate our mood forever. By forgetting to accentuate the positive things, no matter how small, we are letting the negativity win. When in the midst of the chaos and darkness, it can feel impossible or improbable that thinking positively might change anything. It is in these moments that finding even the smallest light, can make the biggest difference. I encourage everyone to find someone, something, or somewhere that brings you a little happiness or makes things seem a little less bad. Think about why and how it helps you. How might it help you in the future? How might it help others?
Dr John is no medical practitioner, but that doesn’t mean his recommendation here is any less valid. We are living in a time of unprecedented access to information and knowledge. The downside to that means we also can easily overwhelm ourselves with stories of tragedy, pain and bad news. It is important that in these dark times, we find healthy, effective ways to maintain the light in our life. For me, I have found that music and accentuating the positive, do the trick.
