What is Digg?79 Comments
- whatthefu, on 12/06/2007, -5/+41The problem I have with this article is it quotes self-help books. You could call me negative, but most self-help books are *****.
- sockpuppets, on 12/06/2007, -3/+34Bahumbug.
- Takteek, on 12/06/2007, -1/+26Lol... "PMA" makes it sound like a disease.
- bratterscain, on 12/06/2007, -2/+18Cheesy.
- Cole2026, on 12/06/2007, -0/+13According to one of his great "myths", negative thinkers filter things and see everything as negative. So positive thinkers are ignorant too using that logic, as they would then see everything as positive. (As he stated, sort of) The problem is, is that thinking positively all the time is just as bad as thinking negatively all the time, as you are filtering out the other half.
- KWCool13, on 12/06/2007, -2/+14i'm only negative when i'm coming off of adderall.
- Zuggy, on 12/06/2007, -0/+12Optimist, "The glass is half full"
Pessimist, "The glass is half empty"
Realist, "There's a substance in a container" - scalemodlgiant, on 12/06/2007, -0/+9What does it say about me that I expected the benefits of positive thinking WERE the myths?
- carbonetc, on 12/06/2007, -0/+9I'm a little wary of anyone who intentionally filters the input he receives from the world. Writing off half of human experience just can't be the wisest approach.
I agree that someone who fully utilizes his own experiences will be the best off, but I don't really see that as equivalent to positivity. - Narwaffle, on 12/06/2007, -0/+7"This myth keeps people locked in a negative reality of their own creation."
Bizarro world? - gudnbluts, on 12/06/2007, -1/+8Depends on the type of depression. Manic depressives don't have a particularly great grip on reality.
- bradcrc, on 12/06/2007, -2/+9dugg. good article.
I try to practice this in my life, but as a pessimist it's pointless. :wink: - willtrx, on 12/06/2007, -1/+7This article reminds me of a study I read about where test subjects were allowed to select an input and then presented with a random output. They were then asked how much influence they had over the outcome. Those identified beforehand as 'positive' thinkers greatly over-estimated the amount of influence they wielded over the process while those with a 'negative' disposition were much more accurate.
--Insert conclusion here-- - tehbored, on 12/06/2007, -0/+6Engineer: "The container is twice as large as it needs to be."
- inactive, on 12/06/2007, -1/+7If you want to see positive mental attitude motivational psychology at its finest levels join a high profile multi-level marketing company. Go to the seminars and conventions. You will be come a true believer and convince yourself that you will become a diamond distributor and live the good life. What they will not disclose is that 60 to 80% of the income generated is from motivational seminars and books. The matrix used to make you into a diamond distributor is doomed to failure. It looks simple but in reality it is a three dimensional matrix which needs a 1000 times more recruits than disclosed. You will sell the dream, financed out of your day job; live the dream, financed out of your day job; and loose your friends trying to sell them soap power that they can buy at half the price at the local super market.
Add up the hours and costs involved after a two year period living the positive mental attitude dream and one thing is for certain. If you put all that time and effort into your day job, you will be ten times financially better off with less stress and still have your friends.
The moral of the story is no-one will tell you the truth; people will only tell you what they want you to know. - smokewater, on 12/06/2007, -0/+6Everyone knows if you ignore your problems they will just go away.
- inactive, on 12/06/2007, -3/+9I hate positive people. Negativity is the key to happiness.
- tehbored, on 12/06/2007, -0/+5Well I certainly don't want money bags to just fall out of the sky. Unless they have little parachutes of course. Those things are heavy!
- silverlinkx2, on 12/06/2007, -2/+7The article hasn't even been up for a day and people are already negative about it.
I've spent an overwhelming majority of my life being negative. And I most certainly fell into the trap of thinking that because of my negativity, when tragedy struck I'd be more likely to cope with it because I was prepared for negative scenarios.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I found that the positive people were more able to deal with times of trial because they knew how to process the event, learn what they could, accept it and move on, while I simply used it to further my sorrowful existence and fall even more victim to despair.
Positive people are just as realistic as negative people. After all, there's usually a rainbow after the rain. - inactive, on 12/06/2007, -0/+5Here's an idea. Be positive when there is something to be positive about. Be negative when there is something negative to be about. In some cases people should be negative all the time. Like if you live in Africa. In other cases you should be ecstatic all the time. Like if you are Bill Gates.
- lydecker, on 12/06/2007, -1/+6Where's the other half of this study, where inputs were directly related to outputs? Then who's more accurate, the positive thinkers who thought they could influence things, or the negative ones who cant?
The "negatives" were more accurate because the experiment was "negative," as in their input had negligible effect. - fdw2006, on 12/06/2007, -2/+7Submitter - good article but I wouldn't assume that the description of "PMA perspective given" is going to entice a lot of people.
- DDRSkata, on 12/06/2007, -0/+4Hey! I got that PMA!
- donkz, on 12/06/2007, -1/+5Positive people aren't cheesy, posers who are trying to appear positive are.
- bman85, on 12/06/2007, -1/+5Sometimes it is just damn hard to be positive- thats all there is too it.
- MadHarvey, on 12/06/2007, -0/+4I don't know about best, but they sure said it the Loudest!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKnQctrX6rc
Best. Band. Ever. - schnitzi, on 12/06/2007, -1/+4Annoying too.
- jc7012, on 12/06/2007, -0/+3Seems like he's pretty sure of his facts, but is he positive? er...Is he sure?
- inactive, on 12/06/2007, -1/+4Every one loves to quote Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. A better book is The Master Key to Riches by the same author. The problem with motivational psychology books is there are too many undisclosed variables. Think and Grow Rich is a distillation of 25 years research by Napoleon Hill while working in his day job as a journalist. The Master Key to Riches is a later book which addresses the real riches in life which cannot be purchased at any price.
A young boy is walking down the road, looking for loose change which have dropped out of people’s pockets. By the time he died as an old man he amassed a fortune in footpath and roadway loot. All his life he did not look up at the sky or observed his changing environment. He found material riches but missed out on the intangibles. The sun shining, birds singing, the change of the seasons, women and their changing fashions. The delight of seeing a sexy woman when the breeze blows her skirt up to revealing a nice pair of legs and no panties. Priceless.
Having a positive mental attitude will not guarantee success or happiness. Every human alive makes judgements based on known knowledge. There is one thing for certain, sometime in your life you are going to make a mistake that you will regret for the rest of your life. That mistake will be based on your understanding of the situation. You can be as positive as you like but the end decision will be the wrong one.
If you want a wake up call read: Acres of Diamonds by Russell H. Conwell. You can obtain a free copy at:
http://www.temple.edu/about/temples_founder/acres_ ...
You can take a donkey to water, but you cannot make the donkey drink it.
Think and Grow Rich is obsolete by today’s standards. There is better material addressing life skills. Don’t base your life on what someone wrote in a book; use your intelligence and work it out for yourself. You will get out of life only what you are prepared to put into it. Successful people are people who learn from their past mistakes. Failures are people who keep on repeating the same mistakes. There is one thing for certain every one will find and loose their “Acres of Diamonds” at sometime in their life. - findingmu, on 12/06/2007, -9/+11Great article. I'd add that people sometimes talk about positive and negative mental attitudes the same way they talk about "left" and "right" in politics. It's taking a complex thing and simplifying it down to just one dimension. Professionals in psychology have invented various measures for personality, one of which is the Myers-Briggs personality test, which defines 4 unique dimensions of personality. Though "realistic" thinking is often an excuse of negative people, a positive thinker can also call for "realistic" thinking- it's just another (different) dimension of thought. It's one thing to let "reality" get you down, it's another thing to accept "reality" and make the best of it, or maneuver around it. Labeling a "realistic" thinker a "negative" thinker would be a mistake IMO. Is Warren Buffet a realistic thinker? You betcha, he's famous for it. Is he a negative thinker? Well, if negative thinking is what got him there, shouldn't we all be a bit more negative? :)
- artsyave, on 12/06/2007, -1/+3Beautifully expressed. Thank you for sharing your experience and point of view. I agree with you completely! :)
"there's usually a rainbow after the rain." - lydecker, on 12/06/2007, -0/+2So, objectivity is better. But it's rare.
Though they are equally ignorant, Is thinking positively all the time just as bad? Are there no benefits to thinking positively? - Zakule, on 12/06/2007, -5/+7I'm all about positive thinking, and I'm positive that the person who wrote this dissertation is a douche-bag.
- inactive, on 12/06/2007, -6/+8Damn, I wish I could find that study which suggested that people suffering from depression had a more realistic view of reality than people who didn't. Seems like this'd be the perfect place for it.
- kesam, on 12/06/2007, -0/+2So .. you're pessimistic about optimism?
- inactive, on 12/06/2007, -1/+3It's not negativity if you keep saying things won't work and they always don't ***** work. If realism isn't the preferred word, how about "babysitting"?
- lydecker, on 12/06/2007, -0/+2Who said the people suffering from cancer were Pessimists? There are both optimistic people and pessimistic people.
- Ademan, on 12/06/2007, -0/+2I am bizarro stormy...
- bman85, on 12/06/2007, -4/+6Thats true. Pessimists tend to be realists at the same time
- mindlessxd, on 12/06/2007, -0/+2Exactly -- pessimists are rarely disappointed: if things are going well -- great, if they aren't -- you didn't expect anything anyway :)
- enicholas, on 12/06/2007, -0/+2First thing I thought of. The study in question concerned the accuracy of self-assessments -- basically everybody thinks they're smarter, more charismatic, more attractive, etc. than they really are. Except for depressed people, who tended to have very accurate assessments of their own abilities.
- inactive, on 12/06/2007, -0/+2I guess no one here watches those royal bank of Scotland commercials on CNBC
- theshizzler, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1Or if things are negative around you all the time, just convince yourself that its only because God is testing your character and faith. Oh, and make sure that the religion teaches that those who are meek and not proactive about their negative situation are convinced that they are the ones who will inherit the earth. At least it keeps them from existential angst.
- amadeusdemarzi, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1one letter away from pms..ok that was bad :(
- TomasWelcome, on 07/01/2008, -0/+1Thank you for the good indeed article. I was happy to dig it. Your post is worthy learning by heart for to use it as the road stick.
Thanks once again. - vincrap, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1DON'T CARE WHAT THEY MAY SAY WE GOT THAT ATTITUDE. DON'T CARE WHAT THEY MAY DO WE GOT THAT ATTITUDE. HEY WE GOT THAT PMA (POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE). HEY WE GOT THAT PMA. HEY WE GOT THAT PMA.
- ryanadc, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1Clearly then the best solution is not to think at all.
/sarcasm. - a10webb, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1Buried for being annoying and cheesy
- amadeusdemarzi, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1I am not exactly sure what you are saying here, although I do believe the point is being missed a bit.
The subject (I believe) of the article isn't about whether you see the world realistically or not. In fact I believe the author even states that both sides see reality.
Take the example of coffee mug with a handle. If you hold the coffee mug in such a way, you can either see the handle, or you can't. This doesn't mean you aren't witnessing reality if you don't see the handle. You are just looking at it through a particular perspective. The inclination would be that a postive person may see the handle as a call to action, where the negative person just sees a round mug, with no where to grip.
I will finish with a famous quote: 'Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you react' (or what you make of it). -
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