In 2008, I thought President Barack Obama was arguably the most polarizing figure of our lifetime. Eight years later, I’m convinced that moniker goes to the new man in charge.

About a decade ago, I simply thought of Donald Trump as a man who had a lot of success as a businessman, hosted a reality show and received a “Stone Cold Stunner” from Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 23.

Now, he’s the 45th President of the United States.

I’m not a political guy by any means, but it is hard not to follow some of the reactions to President Trump’s election to the helm from society as an objective observer. Some responses were mild, while others were not.

Gallup, Inc., an “American research-based, global performance-management consulting company,” conducted an interesting study about the positivity/negativity of the world in 2013.

The results showed the world is slowly becoming a more negative place to live. According to Gallup’s Negative Experience Index, “a measure of people’s experiences of stress, anger, sadness, physical pain and worry has crept upward since 2007.”

The United States was tied for 33rd out of 138 countries as the most negative nation in the world in 2013.

One can only imagine this number in 2017. My guess would be this number has climbed since.

Is it a result of events happening around us? Is it a result of the divisiveness of this country? Is it a result of unnecessary violence? It could be a mixture of it all.

But what about the things we can control?

President Trump may be the leader of our country, but you are the leader of your life.

When individuals allow elements they cannot control to affect their everyday life, it breeds an unnecessary outburst of negativity in all situations.

How can I complain about the life I live? I wake up every morning, I have two hands and two feet, a wonderful and supportive group of family and friends, an amazing career and I attend the greatest university I could ever ask for.

We all have different problems, but to observe someone that has it worse than I do with a more positive outlook on life is a wakeup call. Those people are the salt of the earth and are making this world a better place to live.

As fellow humans, we should strive to make a positive impact on those around us.

Yes, acknowledge that there are negatives all around us. Find the silver lining because chances are, it exists if we look hard enough.

Instead of living in a world that harbors stress, anger, sadness and division, be the agent that makes the world positive, pleasant and willing to help our fellow brothers and sisters.

Now is the time to exhibit a positive morale. We need it more than ever.