Positive
thinking is a mental and emotional attitude that focuses on the
bright side of life and expects positive results. A positive person anticipates happiness, health
and success, and believes he or she can overcome any obstacle and difficulty.
We’re constantly
making decisions about
work and relationships, but do you think that they’re all rational and logical?
Sometimes, we don’t realize that our own positive thinking has a lot of
influence over our decisions.
“We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore
the consequences of ignoring reality.”
-Ayn Rand-
When you desire
something, like achieving a goal or buying that house you saw and couldn’t get
out of your mind, you send a signal to your brain that indicates you’re missing
something. Every decision you make from then on will be influenced by this
desire.
So what happens to
reality? It transforms into what you want it to be and causes you think
everything is going your way. It isn’t difficult to see how many problems this
can cause, not only in relationships, but also at work. Reality is what
it is, and as much as you want to see it through other eyes, it’s not going to
change.
"Thought becomes a slave to desire"
It might seem extreme,
but thought becomes a slave to the desires of the mind, especially
if it’s a really big desire. When this happens, as rational as you think you
are in the moment you make the decision, that’s not how it is. You no longer
see reality as it is; you see what you want to see.
positive thinking is
based on illusion and fantasy. As such, it doesn’t matter what’s really happening. If you’re
going down the wrong path, if people aren’t treating you well, if you’re
making mistakes, you can’t see any of it because you’re
visualizing a different world, one that you imagine and make real in your mind.
Despite the fact that
wishful thinking can be a form of motivation, it can also become a way
to avoid a situation that you don’t like. For example, imagine you’re
in a relationship where everything is going badly. You want everything to be
like it was before, when everything was better. In your mind, you remember the times when
happiness reigned. You bring these memories to the present and imagine that
this is how the relationship is going now.
Reality can be very painful, and for that reason, we
unconsciously try to run away.
You’re living in a
fantasy world without meaning to and without being aware that you’re closing
your eyes to what’s happening. So, you pretend. You end up focusing on yourself, your own
desires, and you end up forgetting about others. This causes serious problems.
”Stop Counting the Years and Start Fulfilling Dreams”
The traps of
positive thinking
You have to realize
that positive thinking never comes from reality; it comes
from what you want to happen. But being realistic is necessary to avoid
falling for certain traps that can cause serious problems in your life.
The following are a few examples:
·
You
focus on the goal and
not on the process. This
prevents you from seeing the mistakes you’re making, what you’re doing wrong,
and if you don’t remedy this, it won’t end well. The thing you desired so much
can work against you.
·
You
don’t confirm whether what you want is feasible. When you have a goal or a dream, the first
thing you have to do is verify whether it’s doable so that your effort is not
in vain and you avoid disappointment. Wishful thinking prevents you from making
this evaluation and allows you to dedicate resources to goals that are beyond
your reach.
·
You
get frustrated and disappointed. Wishful thinking causes you to live in a fantasy world. This
means that, when you have to stick to reality, you get frustrated and
disappointed. However, if your desire is strong enough, you will prolong
the situation that’s gradually wearing you down.
Sooner or later, reality will show itself,
which will be much more cruel and much more bitter.
If you live in this
fantasy world for too long, the time will come when you won’t know how to
distinguish between what’s real and what’s not. There will be moments in your interpersonal
relationships when others will try to open your eyes. Reality will slap
you in the face and make you sad, and you won’t go back to that fantasy to feel
better.
You’ll find yourself in the real world, which you
can’t escape from no matter how much you want to. If you don’t open your eyes,
other people and situations will do it for you. But it’s better for you to open
them for yourself, if you don’t want to be torn apart by the dream you’ve been
buried in for so long, a lie that you believed was real.
Positive thinking is
very comfortable. You like it; it’s
right where you want to be. But it also turns you into a coward who runs away
from reality and everything you don’t want to accept.