Two great writers came out of the Holocaust: Victor Frankl and Elie Wiesel. While Frankl’s message was of self-empowerment, Wiesel’s message was of despair. Yet Wiesel became more influential than Frankl.
How can this be, some may ask. Isn’t positive thinking everything? Isn’t negativity something that makes losers? I come from Russia, and Russians generally do not have a sunny outlook on life. Yet Russians won Second World War, put the first man in space, produced the world’s greatest literature and ballet, and for 40 years credibly rivalled America for leadership of the world.
Vysotsky, a Russian singer and songwriter, wrote in one of his songs: “I have no trust in fate, in myself even less faith.” According to this thought, the man should have been a complete loser. Yet he became one of the most successful musicians in history. How can this be?
Well, maybe the reason is as follows. Your mood is not in control of the world. Sometimes people with positive outlooks will succeed; sometimes they won’t. Sometimes people with negative outlooks will succeed; sometimes they won’t. As for me I don’t encourage either positive thinking or negative thinking. I encourage real thinking that stands to solve the problems of the world.
The people who advocate positive thinking talk a lot about responsibility. The real task of responsibility is to solve the problems that we face. Some may see paying attention to such things as being negative or as wanting to force one’s will on the world. No; it is caring about the world that we are bequeathing our children. This is the definition of responsibility.
Yes, people with negative outlook can be a drag. But people with positive outlook tend to overlook problems, and this keeps problems from being solved. They act in a careless and foolish manner. Someone close to me once wanted to do something rash, and when I told her the consequences of that she said that I was preaching fear. So I let her have her way, and she got the consequences that I was warning her about. She did not get this because of negativity in her consciousness. She has done tons of work on herself and did not have any. She got this because she did something rash.
Is negativity the solution? Not at all. Negative thinking can be just as stupid as positive thinking. There are just as many morons in Russia as there are in America. A negative thinker would think that the problems we face are too much for us to deal with, which is completely untrue. These problems are solvable. I want to see them dealt with in our lifetime. And I will continue to focus on them until they are.
Why did Wiesel become more influential than Frankl? Because he dedicated his life to advancing the cause of human rights. He chose a cause that extended far beyond himself, and he applied his hard work and intelligence to advancing it. And that was a source of far greater strength than self-belief. Similarly, Vysotsky put himself in touch with the feelings of Russian people and gave these feelings expression. This likewise was a source of far greater strength than self-belief – one that propelled him to fame that lasts over 40 years after his death.
So many in the baby boom generation see gen-Xers as being negative. That is because the world’s problems have been ignored for too long, and this does not justify a positive outlook on life. Once these problems are solved I can guarantee that these people will be more positive.
There are any number of more powerful things than positive or negative thinking. I advocate looking outside the self for matters affecting people around the world. There are plenty of things that need to be done, and it is our responsibility to do them. And that is a much wiser direction to take than to practice positive thinking.