The Negative Side of Positive Thinking

Thoughts are neither negative nor positive. Thoughts just are. What they turn out to be, depends on the context. Given a context, thoughts can be realistic or unrealistic; mean or generous; selfish or selfless. Many chronic positive thinkers insist that the glass is half full — do they still remain positive when the glass is half full of polluted water? A positive thinking fellow is like someone who decides that it is more honourable to fall down from the Eiffel Tower rather than from a ten-storied building! It doesn't matter where you fall from, the consequence will be disastrous. In reality, no positive thought can arise without a negative thought hiding around it. They are like the two poles of a magnet. For instance, if I ask you not to think of Mallika Sherawat for the next one minute — you will invariably think of her. Just try it!

Positive thinking can turn negative very quickly. Why? Because they originate in the same source. They are interconnected like marigold and manure. It takes a blooming marigold just a few days to become manure. Similarly, manure becomes a flower in the course of time. Marigold and manure are two expressions of one shared identity. Negative thinking comes from the same shared space as positive thinking. I am not endorsing negative thinking. I am simply saying, thoughts become positive or negative depending on you. It is you who sets the standards and values by which you evaluate thoughts. A lot of people talk about falling standards of every thing: food, music, newspapers, movies, the young generation or whatever.

Actually standards have neither fallen nor risen. Standards have just shifted; your value frames have changed.

Dr.Debashis Chatterjee is a Professor at IIM, Lucknow