Are you more of a negative thinker or a positive thinker?

by | Feb 6, 2011 | Uncategorized | 6 comments

My recent posting on using mistakes as learning opportunities is consistent with positive thinking. Some individuals habitually look on the bright side of events. I am usually in that category. Other individuals tend to look on the dark side, often with the result of experiencing strong negative emotions, according to research findings. Which way do you usually go? You can test yourself by deciding to what extent you agree with this statement by Edmund Burke: “He who wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.” If you agree, count yourself a positive thinker.

Have you shown yourself to be a positive thinker in other ways? Does thinking positively help you keep a positive mood?

John Malouff, PhD, JD
Associate Professor of Psychology

6 Comments

  1. Good morning! I believe I am positive thinker. I have found that most of the events in my life that have initially appeared to be negative I am usually able to be thankful for upon reflection.

    Thought you might like this video of father and son Ironmen, Dick and Rick Hoyt, hope you can access from this link;

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnrLv6z-mM

    Jim Dandy

  2. Hi Jim Dandy. To make something good out of a problem is a great accomplishment!

  3. This is my first read of your blog and I love it.

    I often find it hard to think positively and just feel like sometimes it “sucks to be me!”…. then I realize that feelings come and go and if I just don’t go with the dark ones I might feel lighter. It doesn’t always make me not feel that emotion but it does sometimes show a way out of the tunnel. After all if there’s no valleys then you can’t enjoy the peaks so to speak…

    I think all things happen for a reason and I just have to find the lesson in the negative thought, sometimes it’s just perspective. I loved Viktor Frankl’s book “Man’s search for meaning”, and since reading it I think my life isn’t half as bad as some others get; and if Viktor could find some good in a death camp then my easy life in comparison means I should find some way of paying back and making others lives better……

    Thanx for putting in the effort to blog. I loved your class lecture recently, your very inspiring in an area that seems like a mine field & your joy is obvious, you sound like a big cuddly teddybear… ;0)

  4. Hi La. I agree that how good or bad something is depends on the perspective we take. Marcus Aurelius said: “Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” Studies have found that individuals feel happy about their salary if they think it is higher than that of others, and they feel bad about the salary if they think it is lower. You sometimes use the perspective of Jews in a concentration camp; I sometimes use the perspective of Jesus being whipped and crucified. I also think of the many individuals who will risk their life today fighting for freedom.

  5. Hi John,

    I love the 2 quotes you have used. Edmund Burke is so simple yet I can see where some people would read it and get turned off thinking why wrestle when we can sit back and go with the flow.

    I have been known to be a positive person in my personal life, yet in my working life as “boss” to be a very hard but fair leader which can get me into trouble with my peers. Yes we need to celebrate the wins but I find it more the ongoing journey that will bring us most joy and happiness for we may be content with our current position in life however will be we content tomorrow, having gained no more knowledge, skills or for me the big one is experience? So to me improving skills, being challenged by other teams/people whether at work or home is a positive thing.

    Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth….I battle with those that do not like to tell the truth and constantly remind myself that my perspective maybe different to others. This is one I will need to remember as I meet and get closer to new people in my life.

    I have been an external student at UNE for 2years now and have only just discovered these blogs, think I will need to drop by a little more often.
    Thanks John,

    Cherie

  6. Hi CK. I like your thoughts about perspective taking. It would help us in life if others took our perspective now and then. That can be hard for others to do, unless we disclose information about our life experiences, our goals, our fears, and so on. Some of us disclose a lot, taking the associated risks, and some of us disclose little, hiding our true selves. I personally like individuals who freely disclose — I wonder whether humans tend to err too much on the side of hiding.

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