 All of our behavior results from the thoughts that preceded it. So the thing to work on is not your behavior but the thing that caused your behavior, your thoughts. - Dr. Wayne Dyer There are many different ways by which cognitive scientists try to understand and explain mind functioning. Underlying these different approaches is the assumption that any mind activity involves the transformation of information through a series of processes – procedures and operations – that draw upon existing mental patterns or knowledge representations. The analogy is often made between the human mind and the computer, one of the many possible metaphors and the most commonly used for it. They even say that the mind is a super-computer – greater, better, and more efficient than any computer there is. Just as any computer can run many different programs, the human can perform many different behaviors, as well. Both the computer and the human mind store their files and programs in their memory until they are needed. In computers, these programs are those that let you write documents such as letters, reports, or books like this, surf the internet, play music or videos, and many more. By analogy, programs being stored in the human mind are those that tell us how to cook, play tennis, wash dishes, sing and dance, and a lot more, too. Computers generate thousands and thousands of information through processing the raw data the user inputs. The human mind is not at all different from this. For a clearer view, let’s take for example the process by which a search engine in the internet undergoes. In cyberspace, one can look for a particular subject without even standing up from his seat. All he has to do is open a search engine, type the subject matter he is looking for, and wait for the results to be produced by the engine. Simple and common topics like love, the Earth, McDonald’s, etc. that you might key in may produce millions of results. Some are relevant and may conform to what you are really looking for, while others are insignificant and do not focus mainly on the topic – that they may only mention the word once or twice. Like computers, particularly search engines in the internet, the mind also generates thoughts and ideas this way – quick and easy, provides plentiful results, yet with complications. We can never ask a search engine to list only the ones we need, the appropriate ones, and to neglect those that hardly match what we are looking for. Likewise, relevant and irrelevant thoughts will also always pop up in our minds. We can never avoid it, but we can always check them one by one and classify as to positive or negative thoughts. Consider the situation where you want to buy a present for your grandmother’s birthday but you have no money to afford one. And so, using your mind, you think of possible ways to acquire money. After some time, this is what you have come up with:
As we have mentioned earlier, the mind will produce all sorts of things – good or bad, right or wrong – and we can never avoid it. What we can do is to organize and arrange them according to the level of their uprightness, i.e. What is a good and decent way in which I can acquire money? A better way? The best way?, or to classify them according to decency, i.e. What are the good ways? Which are the bad ways? Now, let us try solving and use our mind in dealing with this. Among the ideas in the list generated by the mind, such as to run errands for somebody, to ask money from parents, to sell things that aren’t in use anymore, to apply for a job, to borrow money, and to join contests are those that we can say proper and acceptable ways in acquiring money. These thoughts are what we call positive thoughts. On the other hand, to steal money, to sell things that aren’t yours, to beg money from strangers, to ask money from other people, and to gamble are inappropriate and unacceptable solutions to the problem. They are considered negative thoughts. In the mind, these positive and negative thoughts are always in conflict. What wins among them is shown through our actions and behavior towards things. In the example above, if what you did is anything among the “proper and acceptable” ways, then the positive thoughts won over the negative. Alternatively, if you chose to do any of the “inappropriate and unacceptable” ways, then the negative thoughts had won over the positive ones. Positive Thoughts
Encarta Dictionary (2003) defines the tem “positive” as “confident, optimistic, and focusing on the goods things rather than the bad.” Therefore, positive thoughts are sets of ideas in the mind that brings confidence, optimism, and focus to an individual. Familiar with the song Beautiful by Christina Aguillera? This is a good example of a song with words pertaining to positive outlook on how to see one’s self. Below is the complete lyrics of the song: Every day is so wonderful And suddenly, it's hard to breathe Now and then, I get insecure From all the fame, I'm so ashamed I am beautiful no matter what they say Words can't bring me down I am beautiful in every single way Yes, words can't bring me down So don't you bring me down today To all your friends, you're delirious So consumed in all your doom Trying hard to fill the emptiness The piece is gone and the puzzle undone That's the way it is You are beautiful no matter what they say Words won't bring you down You are beautiful in every single way Yes, words won't bring you down Don't you bring me down today No matter what we do No matter what they say When the sun is shining through Then the clouds won't stay And everywhere we go The sun won't always shine But tomorrow will find a way All the other times We are beautiful no matter what they say Yes, words won't bring us down We are beautiful no matter what they say Yes, words can't bring us down Don't you bring me down today They say that beauty is relative and that it is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore, like how Ms. Aguillera points it out, we are all beautiful in our own little ways and we shouldn’t let anyone or anything bring us down. This is an example of a positive thought that brings positive outlook in life. With much of these, dealing with problems like making friends or finding true love or reaching goals, would not be as hard as it may seem. There will always be this so called “fighting spirit” to take away all fears and get rid of any insecurity that causes such problems. Simple I can’s and I am’s shall be a great way to start cultivating our minds with positive thoughts. To add to our example above, optimistic thinking includes “I am smart. I am open to new ideas and knowledge,” “I can stand out in a crowd, though not with my looks, but with my smile,” and “I can be noticed by anyone if I’ll crack clever jokes.” It’s easy to fill our minds with positive thoughts, isn’t it? After all, most of the things in this world are relative. Negative Thoughts
“Negative”, the opposite of positive, means “being pessimistic or tending to have an undesirable outlook” (Encarta Dictionary 2003). Referring now to thoughts being generated in the mind, these are the unconstructive ideas that discourage an individual to be someone or do something. They pull him down so as not to believe in himself or in what he can do. They started with simple notions, were filled by wrong principles due to unpleasant experiences in life, until they take up and conquer his whole mindset. It’s bad enough that everyone possesses these thoughts but what’s worse is that not all can overcome them. Usually, these negative thoughts are observable on people with expressions like “I’m not good at anything. Science, Math, Speech, you name it. I can’t do it,” “I can’t face her. I’m just too shy. Will you just give her this for me,” or “What if I made a mistake? My boss will surely gonna kill me.” No, not, don’t, can’t, won’t, and what if’s – these are the usual manifestations of negative thinking. It’s as if they have this function to build a wall between you and the place you’re going; thus, holding you back from doing something without even trying. That’s how evil negative thoughts can be. Clash between Positive and Negative Thoughts
Joke Time!
A linguistics professor was lecturing to her class one day. "In English," she said, "A double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative." A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right." The concept of positive and negative exists in many fields of study. And in all of these, they seem to oppose each other. They are in constant conflict. Like in the above joke, in grammar and languages, they refer to expressions. Positive expressions state affirmations and agreement to something previously said, while negative expressions declare disagreements and differences of opinion in a discourse. In mathematics, where positive and negative concepts also exist, they refer to integers. Positive integers are numbers greater than 0, located on the right of the number line, and continue to increase its value. On the other hand, negative integers are the exact opposite of positive ones – numbers less than 0, located at the left of the number line and with decreasing value. Medicine is another field of study which uses the terms positive and negative. Positive is an indication of presence of something in a test, usually particular organisms and illness as in HIV positive. Then again, absence of these particular diseases or condition that is being tested for is what negative means in this particular field. Law, Physics, Photography, Logic, Biology, and Electricity are still some of the many fields of knowledge where the concepts of the conflicts of positivity and negativity are observable. Most importantly, these conflicts between the two are to be discussed thoroughly under the field of cognitive science – the clash between positive and negative thoughts. As we have mentioned earlier, our mind is boundless when it comes to generating thoughts. It produces every idea we need. Comparing it to a search engine in the internet, when we wish to find answers to a certain problem, it will make a list of all solutions, regardless if it’s possible or impossible, and acceptable or unacceptable. This is where the clash begins. It’s as if the positive thought Yes, I can and the negative thought No, I can’t will compete with each other to see who will win the fight in which it will be declared the winner. The prize would then have to be that that thought shall be taken into action. Given a specific problem such as "Can you ace the math exam you’ll be taking tomorrow", the mind works by hypothetically answering the question. Obviously, there are only two possible answers: Yes, I Can (the positive thought) and No, I Can’t (the negative thought).If, for example, the mind chooses the negative thought and says No, I Can’t, the next thing to do is to just let the person take the exam right away. Pretty easy eh? In fact, it’s much easier than the other alternative. This time, still hypothetically, if the mind chooses the positive response and declares that I Can, it has to let the person do several tasks. Surely, he has to do something to accomplish his goal, right? These tasks include review previous lessons, reading, and practicing through exercises. He has to perform all of these again and again until he perfects his exercises in order to ace the exam. Until only then can he take the exam. Comparing the tasks that the person would have to go through when he chooses any of the possible solutions for the problem, the positive thought would have to let him undergo in a more complex situation than the negative thought. This is what the person would have to measure intensively. Will he go with the thought that he can not ace the exam but without experiencing the hassle of studying and all, or with the thought that he can ace the exam but will have to go through all necessary preparations? How about you? What does your mind say? That is practically the conflict between the positive and negative thoughts happening in our minds that we should try to resolve. Putting everything into action is the only way to know which thought has won the clash. If, still related to the above problem, the person did nothing until the day he takes the exam, then it is clear that the negative thought convinced him not to study anymore since he won’t really be able to ace the exam. On the other hand, if he was seen reviewing, reading, and solving exercises prior on his exam day, then the positive thought induced him that he can ace the exam; that’s why, he made the extra effort to achieve his goal. It is from here that we may conclude that how we act and behave are results of how we think. It is evident through our actions what kind of thoughts in our mind are we carrying out in dealing with our everyday life. If there is something to work on, it is not our actions, but our thoughts which create actions. |
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