drop the negativity

Negativity as an overall stance on life is part of what I tried to describe in my entry about a symptom of real despair. Such people will retort that negative expectations are more often, and more likely, right. They could also claim, quite self-evidently, that looking out for problems, mistakes, and flaws is a much better tactic for good achievement than merely shrugging one's shoulders and "hoping for the best". I'm not arguing against those points.

Nevertheless, acknowledging the negatives in every part of life is distinct from treating negativity as an "axiom" or core ingredient of perspective. For the mature, a state which some never reach, attitude and response aren't controlled by external events. Two people in an identical negative situation will feel persecuted; this is only natural. What separates them is the pivotal question "Now what?" The person who structures their beliefs with negativity will answer "I expected this all along. I can try to do something about it, but it probably won't work." The person who has dropped negativity will answer "This is a setback. My reaction to it defines who I choose to be. I refuse to assent to this, because that would mean I'm complicit in it. Even if I fail, I will do something about it."

You can be realistic without being negative. You can be prudent and shrewd without being negative. You can be skeptical without being negative. You can find faults without being negative. Badness is out there, everywhere you care to search. The negativity lies in pretending that badness is all there is.