Do positive people have trouble thinking critically?

[FDJustin]

Just as the title says. I know very negative people often have trouble getting past any flaws, or more often, unfounded emotional issues to see the good in an idea, but do positive people get the opposite problem?

 

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[TheNatureBoy]

I don't think so. To me thinking positively is the process of thinking critically.

For example, a positive person would say "let me find out", instead of I don't know. The "let me find out" line of thinking is the process of doing DD, which inherently consist of critical thinking.

I try to avoid being around negative people. They tend to halt ideas before they even begin. I should know, because I was once a negative thinker.

 

[Flatlander]

I've often been too positive about a project and that has clouded my judgment. As soon as reality sets in, I'm left with another half-baked dumb idea that has sidetracked me from my real goals.

 

[Forza]

I think feelings get in the way of logical thought. Feelings are irrational. But you can't do away with them, i.e. suppress them. If you try, they'll likely just affect your thoughts without your awareness. Not that it's best to be without them. Feelings can provide motivation to act.

 

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[dkt91]

@Flatlander

How do you know your ideas were "half-baked" or "dumb"? Were they really or did you just give up to quickly because the execution go too difficult?

Don't get me wrong - giving up can be the right move in many situations. But often it takes some time until a good idea has turned into a great product. And once that is done it may take some time until people start to like it.

All in all you need a lot of endurance - that's something I've figured out. But once you find something you can be really passionate about you will find it easier to make a complete product out of your initial idea.

In this context I'd also like to refer to the "Desert-of-Desertion" - might be helpful for you.

 

[Flatlander]

@Flatlander

How do you know your ideas were "half-baked" or "dumb"? Were they really or did you just give up to quickly because the execution go too difficult?

No they were dumb. lol The real dumbness was that they were slowlane businesses with no real chance to make significant money. For example, we used to deliver flyers for local businesses. It is an easy sell and it is easy to do BUT unless you are going to hire a bunch of people and then babysit those people, your income is limited by what you can deliver yourself (with help from the family). One day my 12 year old kid said, "Dad, we're never going to get rich doing this!" and I knew he was right. So we finished up the batch and that was that. It wasn't a dumb idea really but it was half-baked because I didn't give any thought at all to how I would scale it up later. Fortunately I have a lot of that out of my system now and MJ's book put into words what I had suspected all along.

 

[Rem]

Everybody should have optimism and motivation in order to succeed. There needs to be that drive in you to get up and ACT every day. Motivation is the driving force that turns your ideas into reality. I do believe that it isn't optimism, but something else in you if you begin to set unrealistic goals. I believe anyone can achieve way more than they are lead to believe. But if you place yourself in a 9-5 job making $40k per year, and believe you are going to be a millionaire in 3-5 years then you are in the wrong lane.

Is it being positive that deceives us? I think it is simply irrational thought due to lack of knowledge, removed from negative or positive forces. When people begin a new business expecting to make $250,000 in the first month and then a million on month 6, and then later find out they can't even pay their bills. Reality sets in. What happened was lack of knowledge probably due to poor market research and primarily not doing their homework. We all run into surprises along the way but if you don't learn and investigate and know as much as you can before the business begins, you soon find out the hard way after day 1 as you begin to understand the dynamics. It's like heading out on a long trip without a map. You become completely reactionary as you drive through all kinds of different terrain. What you thought was going to be a fun happy trip turns into a long painful experience due to lack of preparation and understanding the terrain that lay ahead.

Ideas are ideas. As long as you aren't trying to sell ice cubes to eskimos, it's all about execution. If you have the proper skills and knowledge, there can never be too much positiveness to help motivate you to action.

 

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[Rickson9]

In general, emotions cloud rational judgment. Both negative and positive emotions are tools in overcoming obstacles.

Best regards.

 

[FDJustin]

Thanks a lot for the replies, guys. It was interesting to get your perspectives.