I love positivity. Sunshine, rainbows, long walks on the beach — the whole shebang.

In fact, I kind of love everything. Positivity is pretty much my “thing.”

If one of my pals isn’t feeling so hot, I will do my best to let them know they are the coolest person on the planet, and I will love them unconditionally until the end of time (or something like that). If my coworkers don’t want to work the next day and I’m able, I’m there to help. If anyone on The Spectator staff is having a rough week, I make sure they know I’m here to assist in any possible way.

Basically, I just want everyone to be happy — all the time. No matter what, I just want happiness forever and always.

Excessive? Maybe. But I think having a good attitude — some people maybe even say it’s “too peppy” — is the key to life.

I know what you’re thinking, but yes, I have found the key to life at 21 years old and it’s thinking positively 100 percent of the time.

Positive thinking pretty much means you have a good outlook on life and you assume the best is going to happen, according to an article by Mayo Clinic.

According to Mayo, positivity starts with your inner thoughts, which is referred to in the article as “self-talk.”

“These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative,” according to Mayo. “Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.”

I’m not going to lie and say every thought I have is positive. In fact, a lot of my thoughts are probably something along the lines of “what is going on?” and “are you kidding me?” Neither of which, if you ask me, are all that positive.

It’s kind of hard (read: pretty much impossible) to ensure every one of your thoughts is a happy one. Trust me, I’ve tried.

However, it is possible to correct your negative inner thoughts as you have them. So when I’m having a less-than-perfect day and I think something along the lines of “wow, I suck,” I can correct myself and think “actually, I’m pretty cool.”

It’s not a perfect system by any means, but it sure seems to be helping.

If you’re seeking another pro to being peppy, being a chronic pessimist does more than annoy your loved ones.

In fact, exuding consistent negative vibes causes stress, which can ultimately deplete your brain of the chemicals it needs to be happy, according to the University of Minnesota. Not to mention all that stress upsets your body’s hormone balance, destroys the immune system and can ultimately lead to a shorter life.

I think I’ll pass. I can’t speak for all college students, but I’ve been stressed ever since I stepped foot on this campus three years ago. I’m not trying to add on to that by any means.

This semester, I’m going to write about the neverending ways of being positive and joyous and spreading that onto others. Personally, I have many ways of doing that, but there’s always room for improvements.

I love dancing in public, greeting people with one-too-many-o’s at the end of “hello” and smiling at strangers.

In the wise words of Buddy the Elf from ‘ELF,’ “smiling’s my favorite.”

I agree, Buddy, I agree.

Wentland can be reached at [email protected].