Dispelling gloom by counting positivity
KOCHI: People generally don’t count the blessings but are diligent in keeping stock of the negative things in their lives. And the pandemic has worked towards intensifying the cloud of already existing negativity.
However, an entrepreneur from Kochi decided to utilise these pandemic days to spread positive thoughts. His decision brought him recognition from the India Book of Records for the unique initiative that saw him writing a series of bilingual blogs continuously for 365 days.
“It was a thought experiment,” said Amarnath Sankar, who is the CEO of CAT Productions. “All the pessimism that the pandemic brought with it made me realise how we never thought of expressing gratitude for the things we have. We always take them for granted,” he said.
So he decided to maintain a gratitude journal. “I maintained the journal continuously for 365 days from September 2020 to September 2021. I posted the blogs on my Instagram page,” said Amarnath. The content series were both in English and Malayalam entitled #365daysofGratitude.
“When those in my peer group talked about being depressed on social media, I decided to look around and be grateful for the things that I had never noticed. From the air you breathe, the high-speed broadband connectivity and the stranger who helped you in the street to the reply Hilary Clinton gave to Donald Trump for his insulting speech — all of these are some tiny and big blessings in our lives. People, books, phenomenons, thoughts and revelations became 365 elements to be grateful for!” said Amarnath.
Amarnath’s blog series soon gained attention and his followers increased within days to more than 10,000. “Many religiously read the blogs and commented. I felt happy in bringing happiness to so many people,” he said. The realisation that people gained positivity from his blogs came when he stopped the blogs after 365 days.
“Many asked me to restart the blogs. Now I have begun posting blogs on my webpage. I am also organising zoom meetings where the participants get to elucidate about the things that they are grateful for,” he added.
“From early on, I relished good experiences while not complaining about unpleasant ones. I feel good to know that #365daysofGratitude has had a positive impact on people, especially the younger generation among whom mental health issues are on the rise,” said Amarnath.
His startup helps businesses to achieve their goals by making strategic video content. He is also a recipient of several awards, including the Swami Vivekananda Yuva Prathibha Puraskar (Young Entrepreneur Award) presented by the Kerala Government in 2020.
A positive cause
For Amarnath even simple and minutethings are a blessing. The air he breathes, the stranger on the road who helps a passerby, the high-speed internet, even the speech made by Hilary Clinton against the former US president Donal Trump are part of his year-ong blog.