The existence of most entities in life is not merely proof
of their existence. It is majorly an indicator of the non-existence of the
contrary. Contradictions in many ways define life, shape our beliefs and serve
as the basis for proving many mathematical models. Why then are we so obsessed
with channelling our energies into thinking and believing only in the positive?
A true optimist is not one who always acts positive; he is one who looks at the
most pessimistic situation with eager optimism!
It is generally believed that to achieve success, one should
visualise the success rather than failure. On the contrary, if one fails to
visualise the failure and the package of grief and similar emotions that come
attached to it, there won’t be enough motivation to chase after success. If
necessity is the mother of invention, the inventors must have faced enough
hardships to envision a life with and without their invention to have been
motivated enough to give life to their creations. Our lives usually are filled
with contradictions; sometimes to the point of driving us crazy. It is then
that the thinking contrary method comes into play.
We fight with only those we love; we waste food but aim to
solve all the food problems in the world; we need our parents but hardly
respect them; we are lazy to earn the money we wish to spend. We want to have the cake and eat it too! To resolve such conflicts, it is easier to set one’s
mind to think of the contrary. Any fight, any argument, is meaningless without
our loved ones to add meaning to it. Instead of fighting them, it is better to
fight for them. The fact that we have food to waste only shows our
affordability; the day the affordability is lost, there will be no more food
left on our plate to waste. The fact that we have parents shows we aren't
orphans and disrespecting them is equivalent to behaving as one. Had there been
no cake, there would be nothing to keep, nor eat.
Life offers many things we ought to be grateful for and one
of them is the human ability to analyse. Stop thanking God for all the
beautiful things that we are blessed with. Instead turn the mind to think of
what life would be without them. Negativity is no enemy. It is only a tool to
reach for the positivity within. Think the contrary, thank the ordinary.
