Negative Thinking Power
October 8, 2006
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I was having a conversation with my friend Todd Beeler the other night and somehow we got on the subject of motivation. Now Todd is definitely someone I would call an expert on the subject. He makes his living training sales and marketing folks to become more successful. He has published an audio book on CD, The 7 Hidden Secrets of Motivation (which will be formally added to my library as soon as I add another category for Motivation because without successful motivation there we’ll never be able to achieve lasting success in any of the other 4 areas.) The audio book is in the same “Your Coach in a Box” series with the likes of Denis Waitley, Gary Null, Joan Minninger, and Barry Neil Kaufman.
Todd’s a good guy to have as a friend.
Anyway back to our conversation. I don’t even remember how we got on the subject. But we started talking about positive thinking as a motivating force.
Now I’ve read Zig Ziglar’s book, See You at the Top, which is all about how powerful positive thinking is and how it alone will propel you to the highest levels of success. Zig is a brilliant man and his book has sold thousands upon thousands of copies. I’m not in any way disparaging him or saying he’s wrong.
But positive thinking alone hasn’t yet worked for me. I figured I was just defective, maybe not destined for success somehow. Or maybe I was just not smart enough to figure this whole success thing out (but too stuck on positive thinking to allow myself to admit it!)
So when Todd said what he did, it got my attention. And here is what he said:
You know the problem with positive thinking is that is just doesn’t work.
Whoa! Hold the phone. Here is a successful person who makes his living helping others improve their motivation and he’s saying positive thinking doesn’t work?!
I wanted to hear more about that, for sure.
He went on to explain that positive thinking on its own leaves out something critical to our success and if we skip that step we will either give up on our attempts at positive thinking or become rather silly people to be around, like the folks who wouldn’t admit that the Emperor had no clothes.
Todd used an example from math to explain his point. Fortunately for me he was using very basic math! 
He asked me what you get when you multiply -10 (which represents a negative situation you find yourself in) by +10 (which represents the application of positive thinking). Well, let’s see. A negative times a positive is a negative, so the answer is -100. Todd said that positive thinking, on it’s own, often actually makes situations worse than if it hadn’t been used at all.
Then he asked me what -10 times -10 was. That’s easy: +100.
And which result would you rather have? Obviously positive 100 is way better than negative 100!
If +10 represents the application of positive thinking then -10 represents the application of “negative” thinking. Here’s how it works:
When we are in the middle of a bad situation, for example maybe we find ourselves deep in debt, just applying positive thinking doesn’t help our situation. Thinking things like, “I’m wealthy. I have lots of money. I can buy anything I want” doesn’t move us closer to success. In fact it is likely to compound our problem by driving us deeper into debt.
Instead, Todd recommends that we apply some “negative” thinking and face our reality. We must first acknowledge that we are in debt and that we have to take the hard steps required to overcome it. Only after we begin to change our negative situation (by accepting the reality of it and taking the necessary steps to improve it) to a situation that is more positive will positive thinking begin to propel us forward.
Now he explained the concept a whole lot better than I can. So if you don’t have an opportunity to spend an evening in his living room, I recommend you get his CD set and hear his explanation for yourself.
Oh, and what about Zig Ziglar? Does that mean he’s wrong? Well even he has backed slightly away from his position on positive thinking in his follow on book, Over the Top. Here’s a quote.
In the years since I wrote See You at the Top, according to my family, I have learned a few things - among them, to be more compassionate, more accepting, and more understanding. I have apologized to my children for being such a stickler in their growing up years about not letting them express negative feelings of any kind. Ol’ Zig has learned an awful lot about life in the last twenty years, primarily that much of life involves moral absolutes and that truth is truth, and mistakes are minimized when you acknowledge them and take appropriate action.
(emphasis mine)
So I think Todd is on to something. There is indeed power in negative thinking.
Great food-for-thought post. It might be more appropriate to refer to reality checks as ‘equalizers’ rather than ‘negative thoughts’. For example, “poor me, poor me” is negative; “I know I’m poor, I don’t like it, I’ll do something about it” is the equalizing reality check, “I will be wealthy by July, 2007″ is the positive. With the equalizer in there, the mind can work itself into doing the next right thing, in this case, figuring out how to become wealthy by next July.
Carolyn, You bring up a good point. Todd’s whole point is that in order to move forward we must first take stock of where we actually are and address it honestly. We have to get ourselves back to the “zero point” or, as you said, “equalize” before we can really move forward by applying positive thinking.
Perhaps it is a bit like diving. Periodically we have to stop and equalize the pressure in our ears before we can move forward. As we get more experienced we can equalize that pressure without having to stop because it becomes automatic. But even though it is automatic, that doesn’t mean we do without it. We just don’t have to spend as much time and effort consciously thinking about it as we become more experienced.
For those of us just starting out, though the equalizing step is critical and easy to overlook. When we skip it we don’t find success, only bigger failure.
It seems like the proof of this can be found in the fact that so many people buy self improvement material which is based primarily on positive thinking and yet only as small percentage of those folks leave their lives of mediocrity behind and truly see success.
There obviously is a disconnect there somewhere. And I think Todd is on to something.
Oh, Todd is definitely onto something and I agree with his meaning, but the idea that when we jump back to regroup we’re thinking negatively can be unnessarily confusing to someone who’s trying to line up the ducks.
The current philosophy that positive thoughts beget positive realities certainly needs the refinement of an equalizer, but to throw in the idea that negative thoughts are good things is apt to make minds whirl.
But if positive thinking by itself completely prevents us from facing our negative reality we will never move forward. In fact, we will find ourselves worse off then we were before we applied the positive thinking.
If we find ourselves in that position, then, in that case, negative thinking (or, if you prefer, your term “equalizing”) is definitely a good thing because it brings us face to face with our negative situation so that we can successfully move forward.
What is the first step that Alcoholics Anonymous use in their program for recovery? First you have to admit you have a problem. If you aren’t able or willing to have that negative thought, no amount of positive thinking will help you overcome your addiction. It will instead only lead to denial and compound the problem.
We shouldn’t live in such fear of the term “negative” that it keeps us from facing reality. It is counterproductive.
Great Post Craig. I agree with you about positive thinking. By itself it can blindly lead one astray. Failure is actually one of the best teachers and motivators. If we are willing to learn from our failures by facing reality we will be much better off. Just being “positive” and not facing the truth can just drive you into deeper problems.
BTW… found your blog from Liz Strauss’s post
John
Hey John, Welcome aboard! Liz is a good one to hang out with, for sure. Oh, and I’ve been subscribed to your blog since the summer. Folks should be sure to check out the good things you’ve got to say about success too!
[...] Negative Thinking Power by Chris Cree [...]
Reminds me of the Stockdale Paradox, as explained by Jim Collins in “Good to Great.” Admiral Stockdale survived years of harsh imprisonment in North Vietnam by 1) never losing sight of the negative reality he faced, and 2) never giving up his faith that he would make it through the experience, and doing everything he could to make that happen. The point Collins made is that great organizations never let themselves be fooled into a rosy view if reality is gray.
[...] Negative Thinking Power by Chris Cree [...]
Kent, Stockdale’s story, like all those POW’s, is incredibly powerful. I was fortunate enough to learn how they suffered through that ordeal back in my Navy days.
I think we get into danger whenever we get off kilter and focus too much or too little on the reality of our situation.
[...] 7. Negative Thinking Power by Chris Cree [...]
[...] Negative Thinking Power by Chris Cree [...]
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