The Power of Negative Thinking

Negative thoughts are powerful.

They hold you back. They keep you from taking action. They keep you mediocre. But they can also move you to action.

Negative thinking is only half of the equation, as there are two voices in your head.

One is a critic and feeds on fear.

One is an advocate and lives on faith.

The one you listen to most determines your future.

In this article I am going to teach you how to recognize these voices for what they are and how to use them to your advantage.

We all have both of these voices. If you listen to your critic over your advocate, you will be doomed to an unhappy life of mediocrity.

The faith voice will push you forward to become the person you are meant to be.

It is also true that you can harness the power of the negative to overpower you inner critic.

Let’s get started.

Why do we have these voices?

Our brains are wired for survival.

So long as our basic needs are met (shelter, food, etc), we roam through the world our brain searching for three things:

• Threats
• Life preservers
• Reproduction

Our brains first look out for safety cues. In a nutshell, our brains see a new thing and asks, “can I eat it, or will it eat me?”

If we meet new people, our brains ask, “Will this person hurt me or protect me?” Or, “Do I need to protect this person or protect myself from this person.” After these questions are answered, our brains ask, “Is this person a part of my tribe?” If that person is of the opposite sex, then I bet you can imagine what question we ask.

These are natural reactions that you cannot control. They are hardwired to help us survive.

To help us respond and navigate these questions, there are two voices in our heads: the critic and the advocate.

Napoleon Hill (who wrote Think and Grow Rich) calls this the fear voice and the faith voice.

Our questions and reactions are processed by the brain without us even thinking about it. Then, the fear voice or faith voice steps in to tell us what to do next.

Our brains are very good at keeping us safe. So good, in fact, that we recognize the danger everywhere. This can work against us. We are more likely to recognize a stick as a snake than a snake as a stick.

There is a big problem with this system however. It is wired for survival, not for flourishing.

We often see danger where there is none. The fear voice warns us of danger and we respond accordingly.

Let’s look at each voice and how it plays a larger role in our lives.

The inner critic

The inner critic is the fear voice.

It tells us, “you can’t do that. Who are you to try that? Don’t do that, you might fail.”

This voice is meant to preserve our wellbeing.

Public speaking serves as a great example.

Many people fear public speaking. But why? What is the danger in public speaking?

Our brains recognize public speaking as an opportunity for judgment. We think “I can’t speak in public! People will judge me. They will see I am not worthy and will kick me out of the tribe.”

Because we are herd animals, being accepted as part of the group is very important to us.

Well, it is important to our brains. Herds provide safety. Being a lone wolf is a sure recipe for struggle and danger. We dread being excluded and exiled.

Just consider that one of the worst punishments for criminals is solitary confinement.

Even criminals need social connection.

Any threat of exile is deemed as dangerous. This is why we don’t speak up. This is why we don’t take risks. This is why we don’t change.

Unfortunately, the fear voice will keep you trapped in your current routines. If you only listen to the fear voice you will never step outside your comfort zone to become more than you are today.

If you want to become more, there is another voice you must listen to.

The inner advocate

The inner advocate is your faith voice.

It tells us, “you can do it! You got this. Go out and do that thing, because the reward will be worth it.”

This voice is also meant to preserve our wellbeing.

Our ancestors had to brave the wilderness to find food. Their faith voice gave them the confidence and motivation to take risks.

Aside from finding danger, our brains are also searching for ways to make us useful within our tribe. The faith voice helped us contribute to the group to maintain (or build) status amongst our peers.

These days, we do not live in a world of sabertooth tigers. There is limited danger compared to our past. These days, we look to self actualize. There is opportunity abound. These days, our faith voice tells us what is possible. There is only action to take.

I like to think that the inner advocate is the voice of your future self. Imagine there is a version of you in the future who has already achieved all your goals and dreams. That version whispers back to you the actions you can take, the risks you must address, the path you should walk.

Most of the time, both of these voices are present at the same time, sharing competing perspectives.

Pain always wins

Because our brains are looking to survive, we are always looking for threats and opportunities.

We look for them at the same time.

When a new situation comes up, we evaluate the risk and the reward. Our evaluations show up as feelings, and the feelings signal how we should respond.

We are more likely to to actions to protect ourselves than actions to risk ourselves. We feel fear, and the pain wins.

Imagine you are a caveman. You want to go out to hunt to find food but you are not hungry. You perceive a risk to go out and hunt a mammoth. I mean, hunting mammoths is dangerous. You sense the danger, your fear voice kicks in, and pain wins. You do not go out to hunt.

Now imagine you are a caveman with a family. You are all hungry. Your brain recognizes the fear of braving the danger hunting mammoths. It also recognizes the pain of hunger. The pain of hunger is greater than the risk of death, so you move to action. You leave the cave to hunt.

Pain wins again.

Pain is a stronger motivator than pleasure. And we can use this to our advantage.

The power of negative thinking

I recently wrote an article about gratitude and the positive mindset. It is true that a positive mindset outperforms a negative or neutral mindset.

It is also true that there is power in negative thinking.

When your inner critic is telling you NOT to do something, and the inner advocate is quiet, one way to get motivated is to add negative pressure to the inner critic.

Imagine you are hesitating doing something you know you should do. Your inner critic says, “Do it later. Don’t do it now. They might judge you. You could fail. You will look stupid.”

Does this sound familiar?

Lean into the negative by asking these questions:

• What don’t I want?
• What will my life look like if I don’t make this change.
• How will I feel if I am in the same state a year from now, making no progress?
• What is at risk if I don’t take this action?

Keep asking these types of questions to build up a reservoir of negative feelings. At a certain point this negative bucket will outweigh the small critic voice holding you back.

Let the pain win.

Then, when you are feeling more motivated from all that pain, anchor it with positive feelings.

Just ask yourself:

• What do I want?
• What could my life look like if I make this change?
• How much happier would I be if I (fill in the blank)?
• What rewards are on the other side of this change?

Then, don’t just answer these questions; feel them. Let the positive emotions come through.

After building up your negativity bucket, lean into the positive and get after it.

Making the change

I am a positive person, and I preach positivity whenever possible.

I would be dishonest to say that negative thinking is ineffective. It is not. Fear of failure drives a lot of people to action.

Pain is a powerful motivator.

If you cannot drum up enough positive emotions to take action, first build up your negativity bucket by considering all the pain you will go through by avoiding actions.

Steep in those feelings of pain. Then anchor it with the opposite positives.

Pain wins.

Use it to your advantage.

I hope you crush it today!

Clark