The Spirited Mindset

Turning a negative into a positive

After a long hiatus from writing on this blog, I went back and read through a lot of the posts I wrote. A part of me was worried that because I was disconnected from writing here, I may have disconnected from the many positive messages I used to leave here. In case you're concerned, I haven't changed. But I did reflect upon the posts I made here, and I made an interesting realisation:

This entire blog was only possible by making the most of what would have otherwise been a negative experience.

I am normally a positive-minded person. Not many things will personally upset me, and I am always described by terms such as "easy going" and "happy-go-lucky" in an attempt to capture my general enthusiasm and optimism. But around the time I started writing these posts, I began talking with a friend of mine who was starting to doubt themself.

Through consoling my friend, I was exposed to many of the issues that negative-minded people face. I began to notice some mental barriers that I didn't realise existed within my own mind, and overall I began to explore more deeply the roots of how my own mind worked. In the process, I grew, and also decided to reported my learnings here.

Suitably, what made this blog possible was that I practised the underlying theme of this blog - by deciding to turn an ordeal into a positive learning experience, as well as an archive for others.

Also, there's a happy ending too - my friend has a much stronger mind now, and for this, has a great future ahead of them.

Thank you for listening to my story - and while I have ceased the frequency of posts here because I am no longer actively dealing with the issue of a negative mind, hopefully this is not the end of my blogging here either.

Positive thinking is a misnomer

Let me get this straight. I don't believe in positive thinking. I merely believe in thinking, and I oppose negative thinking.

I believe in the world as the world. I believe what can happen, can happen.

This is sometimes referred to as "positive thinking", a term that draws ire from so-called rational people who believe that positive thinking is delusional.

But what I believe in is simply the truth. It isn't that I am biased to think positively, but rather that I am not biased to think negatively.

Negative thinkers bring preconceived notions of the world into their thinking. They don't believe in the world as the world. They don't believe that what can happen, can happen. They are clouded by the doubts and insecurities they have accumulated over the years of their life. They have limited the "realistic" possibilities in their mind.

When so-called "positive thinkers" like me oppose this worldview, we do not aim to purport a distorted and overly optimistic image of reality. Instead, we seek to destroy the distortion that leads people to a pessimistic image of reality.

Humans are inclined towards negative thinking. So much so, that it has become the default. Hence, those who see the world straight and clear, for all the possibility it presents, are called positive thinkers. So sometimes, we are seen as delusional, and if that's what other people think, then I guess we are delusional, at least on a relative scale.

Yet, when we don't believe in our ability to make something happen, not because the world doesn't permit it, but because our mind doesn't permit us to believe it, then who is really the delusional one?

The journey versus the destination

No one is meant to be on top of the world. For if you were, your only move would be down. In life, we climb, grow and ascend (and fail, trip over, get up and try again too). When you feel on top of the world, you actually mean to say the outlook is positive. But you're not literally at the top - you will keep on going up.

A happy and positive life is not about achieving a fairytale outcome. We're never shown past the ending of a fairytale because it's no longer a fairytale once you realise that there's nowhere to go after you've achieved "all you ever wanted". Instead, a happy and positive life is about the relentless and determined climb against gravity.

So don't worry about getting on top of the hill. Just keep on finding mountains you love to climb.