"Negative" is Inevitable

Once people know the positives and negatives of a situation, most tend to focus on the negatives, blindly thinking that attention to the 'bad' (trying to eliminate, avoid, conteract the 'worst' before it even happens) will somehow ensure that 'good things result.'

Plainly, most people know good things from bad, good habits from bad, healthy lifestyle from unhealthy lifestyle.

Why then - are people still doing unhealthy, wrong, bad things?

Why then - are people still making unhealthy, wrong, bad choices?

Why then - are people still thinking unhealthy, wrong, bad thoughts?

Probably because IT IS EASY to be wrong, unhealthy and to think negatively.
Probably because IT "FITS IN" to be wrong, unhealthy and to think negatively.
Probably because IT IS HARD TO be correct, healthy and think positively.

AND MOSTLY - because IT IS COMFORTABLE to be wrong, unhealthy and to think negatively.

Most people walk around all day with thoughts of what they have to avoid or about what they are restricted from or by throughout the day.

"I can't be late for that meeting," "I can't be late for work," "I have to stay away from 'so-and-so' at work because I can't stand her," etc...

These kinds of thoughts occur as a matter of HABIT - instead of:

"I'm going to be at that meeting with time beforehand to grab a coffee and BE RELAXED when it starts,"

"I'm running on time, so I'll be right on time for work,"

"Though I feel annoyance around 'so-and-so,' if I am objective about work details when I encounter her, our personal differences will be removed from my focus today."

Often, too - people walk around all day thinking about what they don't want to think about!

It's TRUE!

Example 1:

"I'm thinking about how I don't want the repair bill for my car to be too expensive - in fact, I wish I didn't have a car bill to think about. If I didn't have a car repair bill to think about, I wouldn't be so stressed. If I were able to think about something other than the car repair bill, I'd be able to focus better at my job tasks today. That darned car repair bill - my broken down car, is ruining my whole day. And on top of THAT - I don't even know if my car will be ready at the end of the day...if it's NOT, then I'll have to pay for public transit so that I can get home, it will take me an extra hour to get home, I'll start supper late - my whole evening will be ruined, too. "


Example 2:

Instead of, "Hey, I've saved $10.75 on parking today while my car is in the shop! If it's not repaired by the end of the day, I'll take public transportation home from work and deal with the repair bill once I receive the details from the mechanic shop."

A lot of people who tend to naturally think negative thoughts - people who are 'worriers' - will probably think the second scenario is a load of 'hooooey!' - but seriously, it's MORE REALISTIC than the first way of thinking!

The first scenario is a 'catastrophic' mindset and a very troublesome way of thinking about a distasteful situation. It is true that someone facing an inevitable extra expense of a car repair bill is going to be somewhat upset - however, in the first scanario, it RUINS the person's entire day and is telegraphed into the future to 'expectedly' ruin an evening at home, too!

In the second example of a way to 'think about' the same situation, the person acknowledges the details of a bad situation, but doesn't bother 'forecasting' about what the present situation means to the entire day and evening, as well. Though the person has thought reasonably into the future (how to get home if the car is not finished in the shop by the end of the day), it was with a rational kind of problem-solving attention to the situation.

Likely, the person from the second example will have a decent day - while the first 'catastrophy-laden' individual will probably feel cranky, overburdened with problems, and annoyed all day long - even into the evening.