What is it?
Sometimes we get confused, calling negativity aggression. In reality, negative thinking is more about internal than external manifestations. A person can be quite pleasant to talk to, but their thought process still matches all the signs of negativity.
Why is it easier to be negative than positive?
Which role do you think is more difficult to play—dramatic or comedic? The answer may surprise you: it’s comedic. Making people laugh, or even just smiling, is very difficult. But eliciting a tear of compassion is much easier. And if we apply this to the topic of positive and negative thinking , consider which is easier to live with:
✓ Nothing depends on me, I am a grain of sand in the desert, I have paws, and the world is so evil;
✓ I can do anything, I will definitely fulfill my dreams, I will not be sad, but rather I will get down to work.
The first model of thinking is passive. A person becomes opposed to the entire world; they are weak and insignificant, nothing depends on them, and they, if not hate everyone, then barely tolerate them.
But being a focused and goal-oriented optimist is much more difficult. It requires strength, a huge reserve of motivation, and, in general, the ability to self-organize. Such a person will never think negatively, because for them, it’s a waste of emotional resources.
In general, negativity is at a lower level of thought development because it is based solely on past experiences. As is well known, negative experiences are more deeply imprinted in memory, so these events, once they reach a critical point, begin to influence a person’s personality. As a result, the older they get, the more negative their thinking becomes.
How negativity manifests itself
There are two formats of manifestation of negativity (in psychology this is called broadcasting): in relation to oneself and in relation to other people.
The formats are different, but not mutually exclusive:
- a person can be negative towards himself, but this has almost no effect on his relationships with others;
- The person is negative both towards himself and towards other people.
What’s interesting is that it’s impossible to love yourself and at the same time convey a negative worldview.
Negative people can form genuine and long-lasting friendships and start families. But relationships with them come at a high cost to others. These are the same stifling and toxic people who, in moments of clarity, seem normal, but then suddenly…
In simple terms, negativism is the habit of noticing everything bad in life and concentrating on it.