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The power of positive thinking is a term that might sound contrived to some, yet stays more relevant than ever in the times we live. With enough negative news to sink the spirits of anyone with a heartbeat, it’s best to keep a positive mindset at all times as a safeguard. While you can find some ways to reinforce this on your own, it also pays to hear ideas from notable people.

Hearing this from Jonathan Van Ness is a natural choice: Consider how Netflix’s Queer Eye is spreading more joy and positivity than any reality show in existence.

According to Van Ness, he has his own methods of staying positive in a crazy world. He once answered this and other questions in a notable 2018 BuzzFeed Q&A.

Jonathan Van Ness uses Twitter as a place to burn off

Jonathan Van Ness
Jonathan Van Ness | Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Clusterfest

A lot of us can probably admit to using Twitter as a playground rather than a place to do business. While some use it as a place to promote their work, most use it as a place to be opinionated about politics and everything else.

As we all know, Twitter is akin to a truth serum forum where we see who famous people really are. Many of them aren’t afraid to vent openly, sometimes leading to trouble once a foot goes firmly in mouth. We’ve even seen famous people banned from Twitter for similar behavior.

When someone asked Van Ness how he stays positive in such a negative world, his first answer was to go on Twitter and express all his negativity there. He claims nobody reads there anyway and it doesn’t matter.

If you can argue Van Ness is mistaken in how many people really read Twitter, he at least gave a new perspective on how useful social media can be. Before we start interacting in the real world, using Twitter to burn off steam about politics and all negative feelings can make real-life more tolerable.

Jonathan Van Ness uses Instagram to post things you like/love

Van Ness has another recommendation for having a more positive life. He proves the value of social media again by talking about how he goes on Instagram to share his most favorite things/stories.

In his case, it’s things like figure skating and gymnastics, which might sound contrived, but a good pointer toward finding things that make you happy. Most notables who go on Instagram seem to find more happiness there than they do on Twitter. They do because they’re posting pictures of activities they love in their careers or while on vacation.

No wonder Instagram became so popular thanks to not having nearly as much political/life venting there as you find on other social platforms.

Jonathan Van Ness should write a book about his methods of positive thinking

The entire cast of Queer Eye seem to think positively in real life and pass on positive vibes to the American heroes they help. However, Van Ness also has his own podcast where he talks about interesting subjects as a form of positive diversion.

Any of you who’ve listened to his podcast Getting Curious will know that it does a good job of putting you in a different place rather than the constant depressing news cycle. Listening to experts talk about things that make our world a better place is the perfect way to put everything around us in a better perspective.

With Van Ness not realizing he’s directly helping to contribute toward positive thinking proves how humble he is. Nevertheless, taking his social media suggestions to the heart is worth pursuing. Just remember more people are probably reading you on Twitter than you think if you have a solid enough following.