The Perils of Positive Thinking

Many ideas people take to are simply a reaction to the fear of their opposite. Positive thinking is an excellent example. People employ positive thinking only as an antidote to negative thinking. If the negative thoughts were nonexistent, there would be no motivation to seek positive thoughts.

The problem with positive thinking is that it is ineffective. The results are, at best, temporary, and they must be constantly replenished. Without resolving the underlying issue, no lasting results can be attained.

If your house is on fire, the first thing you do is put out the fire. You don’t begin rebuilding while the fire rages on.

Positive thinking is asserted over a background of negativity. No matter how hard one tries to convince himself of the positive thoughts, the negative ones will gnaw at him beneath the surface.

On some level, he will know that his forced positivity is nothing more than a sham. So, rather than succumbing to positive thinking, let us examine the real problem.

The real problem is that you are bothered by negative thoughts.

So bothered, in fact, that these thoughts send you into a tailspin whenever they become too intense. The natural question now becomes, “Why am I so bothered by negative thoughts?”

The reason is that you are trying to escape them. More specifically, you are trying to escape whatever small part of them is undeniably true. When a negative thought arises, it is only “negative" because it is in conflict with your desires.

If a man desperately wishes to see himself as intelligent, he will be bothered by the thought that he might be an idiot. Even a man who wishes not to be bothered by negative thoughts may be bothered by the thought that he might be.

Trying not to be bothered by something indicates that it still bothers you. One who is serious about becoming imperturbable must examine every part of himself that he has tried to hide.

A man who keeps no secrets from himself becomes free of his insecurities. When one has been freed from all insecurities, there will be nothing left for his thoughts to attack.