Positive Thinking

Positive thinking is important. If you think you can’t, you probably won’t, because your negativity may prevent you from attempting a task or challenge. Negative thinking is a force like gravity that keeps things from moving. If you push yourself to make an attempt when you’re not confident, you can sometimes achieve, and this success creates satisfaction which builds your confidence to try another time. But without trying, you are unlikely to make any gains at all. Because negative thinking acts like brake that prevents you from achieving, it is advantageous to rectify it. It has often been said that it is better to try and fail, than never to attempt at all.

Are people born with optimism, or can they develop it?
I would say that optimism is the normal orientation of all individuals unless this outlook is overridden or knocked out by learnt pessimism.

A pessimistic outlook is borne out of a series of recurring let-downs which create the anticipation of more of the same. Sometimes acute emotional or physical trauma creates pessimism as a type of self-protective mechanism. Anxious people are prone to making negative (catastrophic) predictions about future events that are unhelpful or debilitating to them. Anxiety is a living example of pessimism in action. The anxiety process operates as if it is helping the individual to survive without the recurrence of trauma. However, it is unproductive because the anticipated trauma has a low probability of occurring, and the coping strategies which are set in motion constitute an over-investment of resources in solving problems that are unlikely to occur. For example, a client of mine reported that he was anxious about riding in motor vehicles because he was scared one of the wheels would fall off. Behind this negative anticipation was his experience that he had once bought a secondhand car and while driving it home one of the wheels fell off. This shock sensitised him to anticipate a recurrence whenever he dared to sit in a vehicle as a driver or even as a passenger.

A cognitive behavioural approach to this problem would encourage the person to take the role of a scientist in an experiment that validates or disproves the prediction. It involves reality-testing with facts. The client would produce a chart, involving “My prediction” and “Actual outcome”, and he would be required to repeat the experiment a number of times. After a significant number of false predictions (that the wheel would fall off) the “client-scientist” would have to conclude that the theory (prediction) is faulty, and needs to be replaced. Such an approach can be helpful in resolving many problems involving anxiety (anticipations of a negative kind).

To arrange individual professional coaching or counselling contact Mercurio on 0414 730 866 or email mcpsych@tpg.com.au