Saturday, June 26, 1999

Negate the negative

It is easy to be positive on a bright, sunny day when everything is going your way. In fact, on such a day it would be difficult not to be positive. But the real effectiveness of being positive comes on the other days, when skies are gray, when things are not going so well. Those are the days which are truly filled with opportunities to make a difference.

But how do you do that? When you’re in a negative mood, it’s difficult to become positive because you tend to criticize everything, even your desire to be more positive.

The way out is to use your own negativity against itself. Rather than seeking to become positive, look for ways to criticize and invalidate your negativity. You’re already criticizing everything anyway, so you should have no trouble finding fault with your negative outlook.

Say to yourself, “This negative attitude makes no sense. I can’t believe I’m wasting my time and energy on it.” Be really negative and critical of your negativity, and you’ll have no choice but to become more positive. Rather than trying to outrun the blues, give them the power they need to self-destruct, and it will leave you more genuinely positive.

— Ralph Marston

The price is the reward Stretch next

Copyright ©1999 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.