4. Journey.

ATTITUDES are more important than facts – Dr Karl Menninger.

I do come across so many people who tell me – “You always say, BE POSITIVE but what is the gain?” I ask them what the gain in being NEGATIVE is.

Earlier, I use to wonder what a positive thought can do to me. Off late, I started digging more on that - If not positive then what I will think. Of course, it would be negative. Have I ever thought what a negative thought can do to me? Then, why do I keep on thinking the same about positive. Given a choice, why should I not think positive always?

Also, at times I feel what is negative and does it really exist? Isn’t it just the absence of positive? I feel, there is nothing like darkness, it’s just the absence of light. Well, but it is still called “darkness”, though. Isn’t it? True, but the focus is on darkness if I think about it. On the other hand, if I think, it’s the absence of light, my focus will be on “light” and I will strive to get it somehow.

This is a mind game. Mind just understands pictures. Whatever I say or may be think, mind will create a picture and as it is the controlling media, it will concentrate on the picture and accordingly act upon. Let’s assume that there is a problem and I am looking for a solution. Now, what if I concentrate on the problem area? Mind will constantly create a picture of problem within and make me always feel down. If I transcend and think about the solution, mind will start acting upon.

This develops a bundle of self-confidence and makes the mind feel superior. A superior mind will always invite superior thought and reject those gloomy ones. Auto-suggestions start flowing through and a world full of positivism is created within.

Some folks ask me, what is the power of prayer? I say – Prayer is the most vital element of positivism. I define prayer as an input to myself in front of any positive source. I can get the energy by prayer or from the source in front of which I pray. That’s all. Rest is my task. Energy is everywhere. It’s all a matter of faith, which source do I choose? Hence, prayer with self-action does work.

Also, Prayer can be thought of as a commitment; a commitment in front of a source I have faith in. Since I have faith in that source, it implies that I will not break any trust from my side either. I can also commit myself in front of my near-dear ones and/or throw a challenge. This really helps in boosting up.

A thought about postponing the activity will take me away from positivism. I will start getting the thought of refraining from the activity immediately after the thought of postponing it. Eventually, I will start disliking the activity and in no time, the thought will go out of the mind, may be forever. This is where a phobia comes into picture. A new phobia has started shaping up.

This happens with a prevailing phobia as well. For instance, swimming. The fear of water exists. Now, more I postpone the idea of getting rid of it, it will grow stiffer.
To get rid of any phobias, the first step is building an attitude. The first step is a feeling of I CAN and the next is I WILL.

Some men see things as they are and say “why”;
I dream of things that never were and say “why not”;

The above lines from GB Shaw are awe-inspiring. Positive thinking creates a feeling of I CAN and the next step is initiation of implementation, which is I WILL. If I think about a feeling, I can feel it actually and once I get into “I CAN” domain, I can step up and swiftly enter into the “I WILL” domain. This transition is like a kick-start of an automobile. The journey has begun.

Do I realize that all that happened till now has happened inside? Inside the mind. The journey begun in the mind and now it will continue outside. The concrete implementation is in the outside world with a constant velocity from within.

I call this as a journey from Positive thinking towards Realistic implementation.

I would like to quote a couple of lines from a famous hindi poem followed by it’s translation.

Kuch bhi nahi Asamambhav jag me, Sab kuch sambhav ho sakta hai,
Kaarya Hetu yedi kamar baandh lo, to Sab kuch ho sakta hai.
Tu Sooraj hai pagle phir kyon, Andhakar se darta hai,
Tu to apni ek kiran se, Jag pradipta kar sakta hai.

Everything is possible in this world.
If I start working on an objective, everything can happen.
You are sun, then why are you afraid of darkness.
You can enlighten the entire world by just a ray of your light.

The entire poem is pretty stimulating and worth implementing.