9 Positive Benefits of Negative Thinking

Article shared with me by Pete: 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/changepower/201912/9-positive-benefits-negative-thinking

 In Praise of Negative Thinking 

The idea that negative thinking can have its virtues might be shocking to some. Shouldn’t we focus on the positive? 

Yes, when we can. Cultivating positive emotions like gratitude, kindness, and love has a cornucopia of benefits. Better physical and mental health, better relationships, creativity, longevity, even a stronger immune system—these are just a few of the many happy outcomes of positive emotions and attitudes that have been confirmed by decades of research. 

A heart filled with joy and gladness can be a wonderful thing, but some people seem to have lost their survival sense. Think of the man who steps into the street while texting. The woman who sends her life savings to a scam artist who claims he loves her. The young couple who has sex without protection. Where is the famous "negativity bias" when we need it? 

Let’s face it: Some people need to see the cloud instead of the silver lining. 

In this blog post, I’ll explain a few key benefits of negative thinking and how it can help you approach life in a more positive way, ironic though it may seem. 

To be clear: By negative thinking, I do not mean negativity. “Negativity” involves a habitual attitude of anger, cynicism, helplessness, or sadness in all or many situations. “Negative thinking,” by contrast, means the ability to see the potential dark side of people, ideas, places, and things, in order to respond to them in a realistic and self-protective manner. 

9 Positives of Negative Thinking 

1. Negative thinking could save a life. 

2. Negative thinking helps you envision the worst thing that can happen—and often prevent it. 

3. Negative thinking helps you set boundaries.

4. Negative thinking saves you money and time. 

5. Negative thinking helps you avoid scammers and other criminals. 

6. Negative thinking slows down your decision-making, allowing you to make more thoughtful choices. 

7. Negative thinking helps you look at yourself and others more realistically. 

8. Negative thinking can give you a healthy skepticism towards authority figures. 

9. Negative thinking helps you notice injustice and motivates you to make changes. 

The Balancing Act 

In sum, consider using the power of negative thinking. It can help you protect your life and health by saving you time, trouble, and money, and by sorting out the good people from those who might take advantage of your caring nature. While positive emotions such as gratitude, happiness, and love make life worth living, a dash of negativity can be a helpful spice in the recipe for a good life. So accentuate the positive, but don’t eliminate the negative.

My Summary:

Pete suggested looking into the effects of negative thinking in order to balance my opinions and research. I had a look through this article discussing negative thinking and giving some examples of instances where it might save you money! Or change your life! 

I don't know how much I agree with the findings of the article. I think it uses the term 'negative thinking' for clicks - as really they're just giving modern day examples of negativity bias. 

The issue is not with negativity bias. It's a completely natural thing - embedded into our DNA. This article almost goes as far to bash people who maybe don't make use of negativity bias as much as others. The issue is Availability Bias and Confirmation Bias, which this article does not mention. Due to these biases, our interaction with the news becomes negative and it starts to cause problems. The news takes advantage of all three of our biases. 

So, in terms of my previous research - I don't think that this article was too insightful. It was good to have a look into how negativity bias effects our everyday lives but the article mainly just discusses common sense.