“Think positive.”
No.
Think intelligently
- Know what you want.
- Believe it’s possible.
- Create a strategy to achieve your desire.
- Take action to make it happen.
- Acknowledge obstacles & focus on solutions to overcome them.
- Make mistakes & learn from them.
- Refine your strategy as necessary.
- And push forward.
Relying on chance and wishful thinking is not an effective way to dictate what happens to you — or because of you — in life.
Just because “think positive” is a nice thing to say doesn’t mean it’s going to do you any good. Without a strategy, “Think positive” is a meaningless catchphrase.
Think *intelligently* and take action.
It is through being kind, being compassionate, leading by example, and inspiring others with your actions that you will make a far bigger difference in your own life — and the lives of those around you — than you will if you just “think positive”.
Memes don’t change your life. *You* do when you know what you want and you act with intention.
“A person who has resolved to ‘think positive’ must constantly scan his or her mind for negative thoughts – there’s no other way that the mind could ever gauge its success at the operation – yet that scanning will draw attention to the presence of negative thoughts.” — Oliver Burkeman from The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking
Related:
- Positive thinking vs positive doing
- It’s OK not to be happy.
- “I have no opportunities.”
- The results of your actions speak louder than words
- “Someday”
- What you do in your free time determines what you’ll be doing when you don’t have a choice.
- Self-imposed limitations: A tough pill to swallow
“One of the most counterproductive pieces of advice spewed from keynotes, gurus, and motivational speakers of every stripe is this: Think positively. Why? It’s not a one-size-fits-all guide to leadership (or life) and adds considerably to your stress load. Because you not only have to tackle the obstacles you’re already facing; you have to also wrestle any negative thoughts you have about them to the ground.” — Jan Bruce (Forbes contributor)
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