“Improved” Is The Goal
Dealing With Negatives
Is The Process
You hear a lot these days about being positive – power of positive thinking and all – and I’m not going to say that’s wrong. Who doesn’t like positive. Good news is always better than bad, but!
A world where only positive things exist is not possible and considering negative things in the right frame of mind actually results in positive outcomes. That means that “negative” doesn’t necessarily equate to “horrible.” Consider the following:
You couldn’t have electricity if you didn’t have both positive and negative charges. Those “+” and “-” signs on every battery means the current will flow. It’s called opposing polarity and without it I couldn’t write this post. My wife couldn’t cook great rye bread. Printers wouldn’t print, cars wouldn’t start, CT scans wouldn’t scan and the lights would go off. Some of you might be able to live without my post but if I can’t write mine you can’t write yours. Negative charges support the freedom of speech and that’s a positive thing.
And the application can be broadened. Good writers become better when they make positive changes based on negative (constructive) comments. Talented athletes become superior performers when they use negative criticism to replace poor technique with better technique.
Negative is bad only:
- When it is left unsaid.
- When it is the only thing we hear or far outweighs the positive.
- When it is expressed in condescending and condemning tones.
- When we focus so much on the negative that we fail to formulate a positive action to change it.
- When it is perceived as bad but isn’t.
Otherwise negatives are the bumps we climb on, the hard knocks we learn from, the lemons that make lemonade and so on.
By all means be positive but only in an honest realistic way. Make a point of considering your negative traits and finding ways to replace them with positive ones. What could be more positively rewarding than that?
THINK!AboutIt
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