The Power of Negative Thinking - By Oliver Burkeman
LAST
month, in San Jose, Calif., 21 people were treated for burns after walking
barefoot over hot coals as part of an event called Unleash the Power Within,
starring the motivational speaker Tony Robbins. If you’re anything like me, a
cynical retort might suggest itself: What, exactly, did they expect would
happen? In fact, there’s a simple secret to “firewalking”: coal is a poor
conductor of heat to surrounding surfaces, including human flesh, so with
quick, light steps, you’ll usually be fine.
Though
much of this research is new, the essential insight isn’t. Ancient philosophers
and spiritual teachers understood the need to balance the positive with the
negative, optimism with pessimism, a striving for success and security with an
openness to failure and uncertainty. The Stoics recommended “the premeditation
of evils,” or deliberately visualizing the worst-case scenario. This tends to
reduce anxiety about the future: when you soberly picture how badly things
could go in reality, you usually conclude that you could cope. Besides, they
noted, imagining that you might lose the relationships and possessions you
currently enjoy increases your gratitude for having them now. Positive
thinking, by contrast, always leans into the future, ignoring present
pleasures.
