When "Negative Thinking Is Good For You

Since most people who know me consider me to be a very upbeat,
positive person, you might be surprised that I could find
anything good in negative thinking.

Well, there is something very good and very useful about it and
I'm not the only one who recognizes this fact.

Edward De Bono, noted creativity expert actually recommends that
at every meeting in which creative ideas are discussed there
should be a "devil's advocate" to say all the reasons why an
apparently good idea won't work.

You might think that this would stifle creativity but when done
right it causes people to come up with ways to overcome each
objection and to refine ideas until they really sing.

I had an experience of this in college.

I was the president of a community service club and my vice
president would often come up with objections to many of the
ideas I or others proposed.

She was very polite and delivered her objections in such a way
that no one ever felt threatened or put down.

We always listened, and we almost always refined our ideas to
overcome her objections.

So what's the point?

The point is that there is nothing wrong with thinking about
"negative" possibilities as long as you do so as a way to help
you get the positive outcomes you want.

Every safety protocol form wearing seat belts in cars to checking
passengers before they get on planes is based on "negative
thinking" about what could go wrong.

But this negative thinking is in service of an important goal--
keeping us safe.

And that's what really matters--keeping your positive goal in
mind and making sure all your thoughts, positive or negative,
help you to achieve this goal.