Happiness Series Magazine: Article
How to Stop Negative Language and Thoughts from Crushing Your Creativity
By Nir Bashan
There are 171 thousand words in the English language.
That seems like an awful lot of words, right? But what if I were to tell you that the overwhelming majority of them are used to describe negativity. Isn’t that amazing!
It turns out that in the English language there are far more words to describe negative things than positive ones. More words to describe displeasure, annoyance, and discord than pleasure. More words to describe hurt and pain than joy. More words to describe bad and awful than good.
Maybe it’s solely a construct of our English language?
Surely, there are other languages on Earth that have more positive or happy words than negative or derogatory ones. Maybe it’s the notorious English weather that has us uttering more foul language than hopeful language?
To find out, I dug a little deeper. I looked at happiness assessments across a bunch of different countries, hoping that happy countries would have more positive words in their language. And I found that countries like Iceland, Bhutan, and Holland usually score high on the happiness index. They must be on to something that we English-speaking nations don’t know, right?
But it turns out that language for pessimism instead of optimism is not an English-only idiosyncrasy. It’s found in every language on the planet.
That got me thinking. One of the key tenets of creativity is the language of positivity. It’s at the foundation of what I call The Creator Mindset. And today with COVID-19 and everything else going on in the world, positivity is in dangerously short supply. We need positivity more than ever these days–even if our language is not set up to work that way. The language of positivity is like a rich soil ready for whatever creative seeds you decide to harvest. It’s the fertile soil of future potential and innovation.
There can be no creativity where there is negativity.
Negativity is the stuff of nightmares. It’s the approach that tarnishes all potential and stunts all growth. Yet, why as people–not just in the United States but internationally–are we so inclined to use the language of negativity far more than positivity? It’s almost like we are drawn to gloom. To sorrow. Dejection. Misery. Desolation. Despair. Woe. Agony. Distress. Sadness. I think I’ve made my point: It seems no one is immune from the power of negativity.
Fortunately, there are three easy steps that can help us avoid the dark and everlasting pull of cynicism. And anyone can practice them! Here’s how to begin to overcome our propensity to thoughts that are negative:
Step #1: Remember, nothing lasts forever.
Even in darkest times and the most challenging of circumstance, things can and will always change. Today is no different. We are in the middle of some very tough times around the world. But dealing with these tough times with negativity produces no actionable items. It produces nothing that we can act upon. But instead, if we shift our perspective into positivity and use the language of positivity to describe whatever is happening, we may find a creative opportunity where everyone else sees negativity. And that opportunity might mean the difference between our business or career succeeding or failing. It makes complete sense to try and change our perspective to the positive as, indeed, nothing lasts forever. While things might not be predictable–or even consistent–they will change. And this change gives us the creative ability to weather the storm.
Step #2: Positivity is a choice. So, choose it!
If everyone is predisposed to negativity, choose positivity instead. It seems so simple, but sometimes the simplest changes bring the most profound value. We can choose to use positivity creatively over negativity. It is entirely up to us. It is a choice that you can make now. Do I look at the situation that is plaguing my business or career with negativity, or do I instead choose differently and look at it positively? Being aware that negativity is far more prevalent than positivity will help us achieve more balance in our day-to-day lives. And at work. Just knowing that we tend to think on the dark side of life will help us choose not to go there.
Step #3: Focus on actionable goals.
Everyone at some point in life has had something go well. It is the reason most of us are still in business. So, thinking creatively, remembering how things turn out right sometimes is important. We spend far too much time looking at failures instead of celebrating success. We spend far too much time looking at the negative instead of the positive because we are wired that way. Let’s stop for a minute when negativity creeps up and instead recall a success. And that will help us understand that positivity is a far more actionable goal than negativity. When looked at creatively, positivity gives us action items–while negativity drives us to brood and little else.
The language of negativity is stuck in antiquity–unable to cope adequately with the demands of the 21st century’s creative economy, which promotes positive, hopeful, and optimistic solutions to modern problems.
Using the three steps above will help you uncover more creative solutions to problems than anything else. And today, this is exactly what we all need. A little more cheer in our lives—it’s a choice we can all make.