An eye-opening account of how constantly focusing on negativity and how to control it breeds negativity opened my eyes in a way I would never have imagined. Just think of it, how many anti-poverty schemes, anti-robbery plans, anti-drugs policy, anti-this, anti-that language do you hear, yet, the campaigns seem to go nowhere. One theory goes that if you constantly think negatively, only the negative can result out of it. Better put, negativity breeds only more negativity. We should be discussing pro-wealth, pro-vitality, pro-health, pro-development programmes. In our lives even in the worst of times, it helps not to worry about how worse it could become, instead, an optimistic attitude goes a long way in helping the mind to think out of such quagmires. So many of us worry from month to month about how to fend off poverty and debts and worry not about how to make money to pay off all debts and avoid borrowing in future. Others think themselves into unhealthy physical status and constantly fall ill because their minds are tuned to or used to the idea that being ‘ill’ is quite the order of the day. Some people spend their life believing that their fate is to be poor and to drag through their lives surviving barely and indeed that becomes the case. Such people are not comfortable with the idea of thinking beyond their current physical reality. They do not allow themselves to imagine themselves in different shoes nor can they accommodate the fact that their poverty could be a result of their own negativity, always preferring to blame it on some sort of predetermined destiny or fate that cannot be changed. Many a time, people, both religious and otherwise have debated on whether the divine being does chart out everybody’s life right before they are born, so sitting by, waiting for God’s great plan for you to work itself out is tantamount to throwing your life to the dogs. God gave us the right to choose between right and wrong and if he really had set out an unchangeable path for each of us, there would be no need for Him to give us the gift of conscious choice. Just like we have the right to choose between right or wrong, the choice between remaining stagnant or progressing lies with oneself. Many will jump at the excuse that prevailing conditions do not allow or limit one’s progress, yet in any situation there are always limiting factors. Progressive people are not documented for how easy it was for them to achieve progress but for what limitations they conquered on the way to the top, so shying away from difficulties will not make the job any easier. Today, you should begin to believe in yourself and your potential to achieve great things. That alone is not the solution to all your problems but it is a good beginning to getting where you have always wanted to be, but have lacked the courage or the means to. I wish you a self-discovering Sunday. kelviod@yahoo.com
