NEGATIVE THINKING CAN BE A POSITIVE THING
TL;DR Think negative, it’s good for you (when done right).
U.I. PROLOGUE
Negative thinking and how it can be good for you. It's a topic that's rarely talked about. The trend is to run away from it, and understandably so.
Google 'negative thinking', and we're bombarded with endless articles teaching us how to escape, change, or train ourselves to ignore it. Maybe even rewire our brain and completely eliminate it from our psyche.
That's okay. I have nothing against the healthy positivity movement. In fact, I try to incorporate 'good vibes' in my daily life too. But you know this already—too much of anything is not good.
What strikes me about the overflowing positivity around personal development, is that it makes us feel terrible when we do fall into the seemingly endless web of negative thinking.
It's as if letting these thoughts consume us once in a while will lead to an eternal path of darkness. Trust me, it won't. So long as we learn how to befriend and manage our said thoughts.
It's an unorthodox concept. That's why I like it.
To avoid confusion, allow me to begin with this:
When we acknowledge negative thoughts, it means we welcome them into our lives. And since we're completely aware of their existence, we have to know what to do with them.
Two possibilities—either we use them to our advantage, or completely surrender to them.
If we use them to our advantage, the only way they will ever benefit us is when we accept them with the reality that things can go wrong. And then find our way out. When we do this, we don't allow our thoughts to paralyze us.
On the other hand, completely surrendering to them is what leads to embodying the dark energy they hold.
Meaning we'll end up constantly feeding our frustrations, helplessness, sadness, or whatever else. Habitually emitting them to the point of paralysis, and finally hindering us from doing anything about our situation at all.
But your life is up to you. Everyone gets to choose what they want to do with their shit.
Am I saying nobody is spared from negative thinking, then? Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying.
Why? Thanks for asking. Let me bore you out of your fucking minds with a little science talk.
Just two things, though. Cognitive bias and negativity bias.
I’m not an expert by any means, and I want to keep things simple. Bear with me.