I like being around people who talk positive. According to The Free Dictionary by Farlex, the word positive means measured or moving forward or in a direction of increase or progress....Tending to emphasize what is good or laudable; constructive. I'd say that choosing, whenever possible, to be in the presence of positive-speaking people qualifies as holding fast to what is good, wouldn't you?
Sometimes we can't remove ourselves from the presence of non-positive people. For various reasons, we are forced to endure their presence temporarily, or even permanently. We can still hold fast to what is good by speaking a positive word in the face of negativity. We can choose to be conscious of the words that they speak, and conscious of our response. Being swift to hear and slow to speak helps us not to join in with non-positive conversation. Not commenting at all can also help us to hold fast to our good thoughts and attitude.
You may consider being non-positive, cynical and critical to be something good. You may feel that it is being realistic. Does it lead you towards progress and improvement? Does it really inspire you in a beneficial direction? It's all up to you what you regard as constructive, because what's good is relative.
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;....(Romans 12:9 Revised Standard Version)
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