One of my neighbor's sons lost his job in the recent recession. I went to meet him as I had some references that could have helped him in finding a new job. As I entered his house, I found myself in a strange situation. The room was full of uncles and aunts who had surrounded him. There was a competition going on, "Who can console more? Who can say more positive words?" Everybody was trying hard, but most of the suggestions were revolving around the principle of "Think positive."
The Challenge of Positive Thinking
The zeal to fix all the ills of life just by positive thinking has brought humanity into a strange situation. Everybody is in a race to think positively but fails to do so. To think positively, first, the realization and acceptance of negativity are important.
Understanding Happiness Through Misery
To experience the value of happiness, it is important to experience misery. The experience of being a king by birth is nowhere close to the experience of a beggar who suddenly, by pure luck, becomes a king. This is incomparable. The concept of avoiding negative thoughts and focusing on positive ones itself declares that they exist in your mind. You can't live by focusing only on the positive ones and ignoring the negative thoughts. It's beyond your control. A war will start in your mind—your conscious mind will think whatever you order, but your subconscious mind is a self-proclaimed king. It is beyond control. It will generate doubts in you. The more you focus on positiveness with the help of your conscious mind, the more doubts you will create in your subconscious.
The Pitfalls of Repressing Negative Thoughts
You could repress the negative thoughts. Deep down inside, you will become a totally negative person. This, in result, is going to create a void in you. You will feel emptiness in your life because somewhere you know that you are a fake positivist. Your positiveness is borrowed. You are forcing positiveness on yourself. This is not you; this is someone else.
Embrace Responsibility for Your Thoughts
Start taking responsibility for your thoughts and start enjoying them.
From India, Delhi
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148The Challenge of Positive Thinking
The zeal to fix all the ills of life just by positive thinking has brought humanity into a strange situation. Everybody is in a race to think positively but fails to do so. To think positively, first, the realization and acceptance of negativity are important.
Understanding Happiness Through Misery
To experience the value of happiness, it is important to experience misery. The experience of being a king by birth is nowhere close to the experience of a beggar who suddenly, by pure luck, becomes a king. This is incomparable. The concept of avoiding negative thoughts and focusing on positive ones itself declares that they exist in your mind. You can't live by focusing only on the positive ones and ignoring the negative thoughts. It's beyond your control. A war will start in your mind—your conscious mind will think whatever you order, but your subconscious mind is a self-proclaimed king. It is beyond control. It will generate doubts in you. The more you focus on positiveness with the help of your conscious mind, the more doubts you will create in your subconscious.
The Pitfalls of Repressing Negative Thoughts
You could repress the negative thoughts. Deep down inside, you will become a totally negative person. This, in result, is going to create a void in you. You will feel emptiness in your life because somewhere you know that you are a fake positivist. Your positiveness is borrowed. You are forcing positiveness on yourself. This is not you; this is someone else.
Embrace Responsibility for Your Thoughts
Start taking responsibility for your thoughts and start enjoying them.
From India, Delhi
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I agree with your point; being illogically positive doesn't help. However, a few doses of dopamine help the brain work better. Here's my story!
Positivism vs. Escapism
Positivism is different from escapism. I too survived my share of unemployment. Just as you have mentioned, no amount of consolation was enough. However, the grace to handle rejection and failure is what makes one wise.
Every interview I went to, I was rejected, yet I kept establishing professional contacts with them. They couldn't hire me, yet my attitude to remain professional made them remember me. I eventually found a job and, in the process, made many contacts that remain with me to this date.
I used to put on a brave face, even after countless rejections. I knew I looked fake, and probably everyone laughed at me. Yet I still continued to smile, as I saw no point in cribbing and complaining. It would only weaken me further. It grew more difficult when I ran out of money. However, this pushed me to find frugal ways that I never imagined before. I learned how quality and a respectful living don't need one to burn his or her bank balance.
The duration came to an end with the job I found. Thankfully, it made me a lot more grateful than before.
The Role of Positive Psychology
I recently completed a course on Positive Psychology and was happy to find that happiness is all about our choices. It's a mental discipline; hence, it can't be cultivated overnight. The capability of the mind to realize its limits and choose every emotion, especially under pressure situations, requires training, effort, and time.
I wait to hear more from our members on their real-life learning.
Regards
From India, Mumbai
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Positivism vs. Escapism
Positivism is different from escapism. I too survived my share of unemployment. Just as you have mentioned, no amount of consolation was enough. However, the grace to handle rejection and failure is what makes one wise.
Every interview I went to, I was rejected, yet I kept establishing professional contacts with them. They couldn't hire me, yet my attitude to remain professional made them remember me. I eventually found a job and, in the process, made many contacts that remain with me to this date.
I used to put on a brave face, even after countless rejections. I knew I looked fake, and probably everyone laughed at me. Yet I still continued to smile, as I saw no point in cribbing and complaining. It would only weaken me further. It grew more difficult when I ran out of money. However, this pushed me to find frugal ways that I never imagined before. I learned how quality and a respectful living don't need one to burn his or her bank balance.
The duration came to an end with the job I found. Thankfully, it made me a lot more grateful than before.
The Role of Positive Psychology
I recently completed a course on Positive Psychology and was happy to find that happiness is all about our choices. It's a mental discipline; hence, it can't be cultivated overnight. The capability of the mind to realize its limits and choose every emotion, especially under pressure situations, requires training, effort, and time.
I wait to hear more from our members on their real-life learning.
Regards
From India, Mumbai
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POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE.ppt
Mind Powers - Use Positive Thinking To Change Your Life.pdf