My first knowledge of the idea of “Positive Thinking” was the appearance of Norman Vincent Peale and his writings on the subject. At the time I was very young and gave this new thinking no thought at all. Why did I need to concern myself with such things when it was not necessary, an attitude that stayed with me for many years. Until I began to encounter a series of overwhelming circumstances. The situation was so bad at least five close friends, familiar with my problems, made special trips of several hundred miles to be sure I was not considering suicide. Everyone should have such people by their side and I’m grateful for their efforts; I’m still here.
But what was I to do? How ever could all these problems be conquered? I had no idea what to do or how to find out what to do. Then, while browsing a local bookstore, I came upon several self-help books involving the use of inner powers like belief in God, the power of my subconscious mind, the existence of luck, and similar ideas. You don’t just start using any of these methods and expect immediate results. All require effort and the passage of some time; in my case I began to see some improvement within a year and much more after five or six years. The trick is not to give up and quit.
Now here is the reason for this article. There was a comment to one of my blogs from someone in the Middle East saying that negative things are necessary to develop a better life. I am not a student of the Koran, but this person used a quote they said was from the Koran, “Verily with difficulty, comes ease.” More recently there have been a number of exhortations to manage negativism in order to achieve ultimate acceptable results. I say, why worry with managing bad thoughts when it is quite easy, with a little ingenuity, to just cast them aside. I have personally developed two important techniques: one involves turning over unpleasantness to my subconscious, while the other is simply stuffing the problems I can do nothing about into a virtual garbage bag and throwing it out the window. These work for me and I see no reason to ever endure negative situations. The other thing to do is just walk away from any group or individual discussing negative ideas. Be gracious and courteous, but leave quickly.
It is true that bad things sometimes mold character. One of my relatives, upon completing college and before they had a job, was literally thrown out in the street with no job, no home, and no family to depend on for help. This person found a way to go along for several years before finding a very successful career. And, after going through years of turmoil, I feel a sense of self-esteem many people will never know. I’m not sure how my relative achieved their success, but I overcame by getting rid of every negative thing and concentrated only on positive aspects. There is no place for the negative.
The problem with accepting calamities that occur in one’s life is that you are giving in to negative forces which is never a good thing to do. You should do whatever you can to get rid of any kind of negativism. Otherwise you become subject to the control of government, the church, the media, or individuals around you. Continuous acceptance of bad things causes low self-worth and an inner miserable feeling that ultimately makes it impossible to be happy. Always do what you can to maintain a positive attitude—negative is always bad except when it warns of danger. In such a case concentrate on the action required to protect yourself, which is a positive action, and discard the rest of the negativity.
For more information about the subconscious mind, God and the Universe, luck, and other unconventional ideas see the resource block about me which appears at the end of this article.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© Yank Elliott. You have unconditional permission to reprint or use this article in any way you see fit, wherever you wish to do so.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
