in the previous section We took out the “believe in yourself!” Wrong interpretation of the phrase and the true meaning of the sentence. Now let’s look at a close relative of this encouragement, which reads: “think positively!”
Many people say this nowadays, because it is a cheerful and optimistic motto, which fills us with energy almost instantly and brings smiles to our faces. That’s right, let’s think of ourselves, one side with permanent gloom and pessimism, one side with fears and fears, one side with distortion of others and ourselves! Let’s think positive and focus only on the good things!
That sounds good, right? So what’s wrong with him?
Well, if we use that phrase correctly, nothing. The problem is using it incorrectly. What do you mean?
That there are situations in which it is (or will be) our task to confront the negative side of life: dark things, traumatic events, our fears, suffering, real and potential losses, the fragility of our fellow human beings, or with the dark side of ourselves. This is often an uncomfortable and painful feeling. However, for a healthy spiritual life, it is essential to acknowledge the bright side of life as well as the dark side. As soon as we face these fearful things and accept their existence, in that moment we show courage – and in doing so, we strengthen our self-confidence and take a huge step forward in personality development.
On the other hand, if we don’t want to be aware of dark things at all and turn our heads away, if we see suffering, we wink at other people’s pain, sweep uncomfortable feelings under the rug, and when a negative thought pops up in us, we immediately start shouting it. “Sure, just think positive!” – In other words, we shift our attention so that we don’t have to face negative thoughts – then what we’re doing is definitely harmful. This is an escape from reality. And this does not lead to anything good.
But then can we use this sentence correctly?
author: Aniko Nagy (trainer and psychologist), picture: Getty Images
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