Balancing Negative and Positive Forces

By S. Bill Jimenez

MAKE a lemonade. This is a metaphor on dealing with a negative force in life by making it into a more positive usage. We must learn to balance negative and positive forces. Electricity is produced by the combination of negative and positive charges. Likewise, in human life, both negative and positive forces can work together to achieve something good. The negative forces of hate, loneliness, grief and depression must be balanced with the positive forces of love, joy and forgiveness. Likewise, to survive and end up to something good, we must learn to balance our negative and positive thinking.

Negative thinking is not always that bad. A recent study, conducted by psychology professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales, Australia, shows that people in a negative mood are more critical of, and paid more attention to, their surroundings than happier people, who are more likely to believe anything they are told. The study finds that being sad makes people less gullible, improves their ability to judge others and also boast memory.  Forgas writes: “Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking paying greater attention to the external world…. Our research suggests that sadness promotes information processing strategies best suited to dealing with more demanding situations…. Positive mood is not universally desirable; people in negative mood are less prone to judgmental errors, are more resistant to eyewitness distortions and are better at producing high quality, effective persuasive messages.”

Most of our experiences most start with a negative mood and thus negative thinking. Resentment and anger are triggered by bad experiences caused by rejection, injustice, and lousy treatments received. After dealing with negative thinking for a while, we pray for love, forgiveness, and understanding. We even sing some meaningful and inspiring songs. We also read materials about the matter. The negative thinking subsides and comes positive thinking.

Balancing negative and positive forces is achieved by faith and trust in God.

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