The misconception of ‘Think Positive’

When most people start to discover spirituality, and particularly the Law of Attraction, they tend to gravitate towards the thought process of ‘I must think positive all the time for good things to happen’, myself included.

I truly believed that thinking positive and reframing all my negative thoughts was going to fix everything and help me manifest everything that I wanted to be and have. But there’s a flaw in this system…humanity.

As Human Beings, it’s in our nature to be pessimists. As hunters/gatherers, we had to be pessimistic in order to survive. It’s basic fight/flight/freeze instinct. If we were natural optimists, we’d go and give that sabre tooth tiger a cuddle - and that’d be the end of humanity! We need pessimism in order to survive as a species.

Of course, in our modern World, more-so in Western civilisation, we don’t need to fear being eaten by wild animals, we don’t need to worry about where our next meal comes from, we don’t need to think about where we’re going to sleep at night. Generally speaking, our basic needs and safety are met. We are possibly at the most blessed time in human history right now. That doesn’t mean we don’t have issues, Lord knows the World is a scary place at times, but we are still incredibly lucky in the grand scheme of things.

However, if I were only to view the World with thoughts of positivity and optimism, I’d be bitterly disappointed at the reality. Either that or I’d be in absolute ignorant bliss! As Humans, and depending on your belief system, I believe that we reincarnate. We live many lives and in each of these lives we learn lessons. And here’s the key, learning lessons. If the World was all rosey and we thought positive all the time, what would we learn?

Life is an adventure through peaks and valleys. In our lows, our negativity and our pessimism, we learn, we grow and we climb. When we climb, we reach higher heights and feel our blessings more deeply, and experience joy from a different perspective. Without the valleys we cannot experience the peaks, and life would simply be a flat, dull plain of existence.

So the answer isn’t as simple as ‘Think Positive’ - in fact that has the potential to be quite toxic in my opinion. It sets us up for either disappointment or delusion. The key to it all is GRATITUDE. Knowing that there are lessons in the lows, embracing them and being grateful for the learning opportunities. Then when the highs come, we can experience them with a deeper gratitude and appreciation for the gifts this World has to offer us.

Let me know your thoughts on Thinking Positive 😊🙏🏻💛