It is said by many life coaches that one should ‘think positive’. That ‘thinking positive’ is the key to success.
If one really looks closely, one finds a contradiction.
First off, one does not always think consciously. There are passive thoughts, and we have little control over them.
Practicing “positive thinking” can transform some of the passive thinking, but it cannot change its roots. Something deeper in us needs to be impacted for that to happen.
Practicing “positive thinking” also creates a polarity within ourselves – a right and a wrong. It creates guilt and angst when we experience negative thoughts and a superficial elation when we experience positive ones.
In the practice of positive thinking, what happens when you find negative thoughts creeping in? The act of positive thinking seeks to use time, energy and forcefulness to override and create new messages within and around us. The expected outcome is that one will manifest this positive thinking.
One needs to recognize that our thinking is typically a “rinse-repeat” mechanism that just replays our past thoughts and impressions. It is not yet a reflection of a creative and positive self.
Only by going into a state of acceptance, surrender and allowing can we become our true selves. This self is inherently positive. Our thinking then reflects its vibrant and harmonious nature.
Think about it. If we are indeed something worthy of the benefits of positive thinking, doesn’t that make us magnificent beings? Else it is just an attempt at being more selfish.
And if we are magnificent beings, what is it that makes us seem less than so to ourselves? It is just a conditioned way of being.
And it is not re-conditioning ourselves with positive thinking that we require – but de-conditioning ourselves of negative thinking. And the only way to de-condition ourselves is to become open to the potential of all that we are. This is done by allowing.
