Language
& Power
The Power of Positive Thinking?
I know that a lot of Success Newsletter readers believe in the power of positive thinking where sometimes this is defined as “looking on the bright side of things” and sometimes it is an exaggeration, or shall we say, distortion of reality to make something that isn’t very pleasant at all into something that is much easier to swallow and digest….for example Mary Poppins made the children believe that their bitter medicine was in fact very sweet and delicious…..it’s like buying muddy water as a cure-all tonic for your health problems….oh, but that’s deception you say…. well if you are selling “muddy water” you can believe and say whatever you like about it…the more positive your belief in your product, the higher the rate of sales you will probably make….it’s not deception as long as you are congruent in what you believe and say, is it?
Congruency between what you believe and say is of utmost importance. Perhaps you know someone, or have heard about someone like Pinkie Parker….a very Positive Thinker lady?
Pinkie used to be a miserable, slovenly loner who never got invited to any parties and she had been living on her own for over 2 decades. One day, Pinkie enrolled on a Positive Thinking course where she was taught to believe and say very nice things about herself. She was taught to be positive and to be grateful for all her assets and blessings, including the fact that she woke up in the morning! J “So what else are you grateful for?” the teacher kept repeating until Pinkie had an excruciatingly long list of qualities and virtues about herself that she really did need to stretch her imagination to believe……they all clapped for her when she said “I am a Goddess of Love”…..all a part of the process of Positive Thinking…if you can believe it, you can achieve it! So, inspired by the course, Pinkie went home to write her personal ad for the lonely hearts column (she tried to tone it down a bit J:
“Drop-dead-gorgeous millionaire; GSOH; slim: early 40s looks much younger”…..Pinkie “reframed” the value of her life savings and equity in her house and figured that if she were to take all that money to India, she would be a millionaire in rupees J …..no deception there! J I’ll let you guess what the rest of her ad “really” meant if she wasn’t being so “positive”
On the other hand, I have seen some real “tell it like it is” personal adverts…the one that caught my eye today was written by my fellow Sikh bro’ Sody Singh Kahlon as part of his “Sikhs in the City” play:
“SINGHLE, 30-SOMESINGH, CITY BASED STRUGGLING SIKH ACTOR, UNSUCCESSFUL BUT RESPECTABLE WITH EAST/WEST SPLIT PERSONALITY. ENJOYS READING SHAKESPEARE, SERVING LAGER-LOUTS AND DRINKING RIBENA. NO MONEY. NO PROPERTY BUT LOTS OF PROBLEMS. SEARCHES FOR INNER PEACE. AMBITIONS, AUDITIONS AND A SOUL MATE FOR ME NOT MY PAPA. SKINHEADS NEED NOT APPLY.”
You know something, my friend Sody forgot to list that vital ingredient, GSOH (good sense of humour) to his ad, …watch his play “Sikhs in the City” when it comes your way for more “tell it like it is” stuff about living in multicultural Britain….www.sody.co.uk
