Summary

The article discusses the impact of negative thinking on individuals' lives and offers strategies for overcoming it to achieve a neutral state of mind.

Abstract

The article "How to deal with Negativity" delves into the psychological concept of Negative Bias, where individuals are more likely to recall negative experiences over positive ones. It illustrates how this bias can lead to a cycle of negative thinking, which is significantly more potent than positive thoughts, and how speaking negatively can amplify these thoughts' power. The author emphasizes the importance of understanding negative thinking to combat it effectively. Examples such as Bill Buckner's baseball error and Pistol Pete Maravich's premature death are used to demonstrate the profound effects words and thoughts can have on one's life. The article suggests that transitioning from a negative to a positive mindset is not immediate and requires moving through a neutral phase. This involves consciously deciding and embodying the behaviors of an ideal professional, partner, and individual, which can lead to the realization that the past need not dictate the future.

Opinions

The author believes that negative thoughts are significantly more powerful than positive ones and that speaking negatively can increase the likelihood of negative outcomes by 40 times.
The article posits that most people operate on a default setting of negativity, which can lead to regrets later in life.
It is the author's opinion that one's mind can be likened to a garden where words are seeds that grow into thoughts and influence one's reality.
The author suggests that negative thinking is akin to running on autopilot and advocates for living more consciously.
The article implies that changing one's mental programming from negative to positive requires a gradual transition through a neutral state.
The author endorses the idea that behavior and words are precursors to success and that achieving a neutral mindset allows for a better understanding that the past and future are separate entities.

How to deal with Negativity.

Short but needed.

We can’t be our thoughts? We, humans, have feelings, words, and behaviors that have influenced you to where you’re at now. When you come to think about it, that can be quite scary. Why do I cringe at 3 am? Why are you still thinking about your ex? She has moved on, why haven’t you?

We’re running on autopilot, and I believe that we should live more consciously.

The Basics of Negative Thinking.

What do you think is the biggest problem right now? The pandemic? Yeah, but I’d say there’s something much worse than a pandemic going on. It’s called negative thinking. Let me explain there is a term coined by psychologists called Negative Bias.

In simple words, your mind tends to go back to negative memories and experiences that are the reason why you cringe at 3 am when you think about getting rejected by Sandra before the 7th-grade dance.

After thinking about Sandra, you think about Melanie, Maya, and Charlotte. Soon enough, you find that you’re eating a tub of ice cream like it Bridget Jones.

Our minds are hard-wired to think about the cons. That doesn’t mean that we can’t change this programming. Like every other computer, your brain could be wired to function better.

Your negative thoughts are 4x to 7x more powerful than your positive thoughts. The spoken word is 10x more powerful than thoughts, and so when you say some stupid shit like “ I’ll never find love because of Melanie, Maya, and Charlotte,” you increase the chances of that happening by 40x. Capiche?

Why am I telling you this? It’s not because of Sandra. We’re good friends. To beat negative thinking, you need to understand it.

Because I’m a nerd, I took a deep dive into what negativity into what the effects of negativity. The results are quite shocking. The sad part is, negativity is the default setting most of us live on, and then when we’re on the deathbed, we realize that we should have changed and smelled the roses, instead of downing tequila.

I want to change that.

The Effects of Negative Thinking.

So you guys know about Bill Buckner? Okay, so some of you don’t, that’s fine. Bill Buckner is forever known for one of the biggest errors in baseball. It’s been called the October error.

Since 1918, the Red Sox had been trying to win the World Series, time after time they failed. They lost in 1946, 1967, and 1975 after nearly winning. Fast forward to October 26th, 1986, Bill Buckner, a baseball veteran, let a ball go after it bounced above his glove. On any other day, the crowd would have forgiven him, except today, he let go of the ball with the score at 5–4, and then the Mets won.

Fuck.

All rights to the owners.

Weirdly enough, do you want to know what he said before the World Series started?

Check this:

“The dreams are that you’re gonna have a great series and win. The nightmares are that you’re gonna let the winning run score on a ground ball through your legs. Those things happen, you know. I think a lot of it is just fate.”

And what happened? The ball went through his legs.

Oh, and words can kill, don’t believe me? Look at what happened to Pistol Pete Maravich.

Maravich was one of the greatest basketball players of his time. He was one of the youngest people to be inducted in the NBA hall of fame.

On January 5th, 1988, he was playing a game of pick up basketball, nothing strenuous his alleged last words were “ I feel great.” While playing, he collapsed and died of heart failure.

I’m not trying to disrespect the dead, but what he said at twenty-six will shock you.

“I don’t want to play ten years in the NBA and die of a heart attack at age 40.” As some of you may know, Pistol Pete played in the NBA for exactly ten years and later died at age 40.

These can’t be coincidences. There are more examples, Cobain, James Dean, Tupac, and even MLK.

The thing is, these predictions came true because they were seeds planted in the subconscious of each of those great minds. Think of your mind as a big garden, and every word said is a tiny seed planted that never dies. Over the years, this seed grows and becomes this tree of a thought that will take place.

I’m not the one saying it, Trevor Moawad is.

Negativity is the most powerful thing we’re combating. If you’re saying stupid shit out loud, you’re predicting about stuff that will happen, but you don’t want to happen.

You’re always in control of what you say.

Hitting Neutral.

From 2014 to 2017, I was traveling between India and England frequently. I was young, 12 years old, and I was at boarding school. Like any school, I had good experiences and bad experiences. A bully was messing with me was bad, and I gave him a nose bleed, which was good. Nothing revolutionary.

The thing is, boarding school was tough, and I would often cry about not being at home, and it was annoying. To get over that experience, I thought that I should be acting happy, and it worked in 2018 was one of the best years of my life. 2019 was one of the toughest, and here’s what went wrong.

You can’t go from negative to positive. Human beings don’t work that way. You have to go from negative to neutral to positive.

Here’s what you have to do to attain neutral.

Take a pen and paper. Decide on how the ideal professional would behave, decide how the ideal and partner would behave, and how you would behave. Take these behaviors and embody them.

Behavior and words precede success. Life’s not that bad now, it’s pretty good. Hitting neutral allows you to realize that the past doesn’t have to determine the future they’re two different entities. In light of that, I’m going to have some popcorn and watch Dazed and Confused on my laptop, I’ll eventually buy everyone a Coke. Eventually.