Keeping a positive outlook is not an easy task – not in my world. Some people have the ability to make sweet lemonade out of a sour lemon so fast that it amazes me. Dwelling on a negative situation is never a good thing, but is it really that harmful to ponder a bad thought or two?

The great positive writers such as Napoleon Hill author of Think and Grow Rich and Norman Vincent Peale best known for The Power of Positive Thinking  suggest that we  constantly banish negative thoughts. However, Dr. Julie K. Noremsuggests that we harness anxiety and can reach our peak performance by using defense pessimism in her book The Positive Power of Negative Thinking . I have all of these books and have scanned through them hoping a simple solution for finding my destiny will jump out at me. Nothing has yet, however I do find pieces of encouraging words and phrases that keep pushing me forward.

While I often want to throw in the towel, I think that it can be a good thing to get frustrated. Negativity can’t rule ones mind, but I do believe that it can ignite a flame that might brighten the path we want to tread down. Maybe negative thoughts are tiny sparks that fuel passion toward positivity.

There is a world of “ifs, ands, or buts” and there is always some good in some bad and vice versa. I’m not sure if axing all negative thoughts are always the best way to move forward. Sometimes a foul force is exactly what we need to push us in a positive direction. -ed