NEGATE THE NEGATIVE WITH POSITIVES ... Transforming negativity into positives. Is it harder to do when we are in the youth of our lives?
EXPERIMENTAL DANGERS These are the years of greatest experiments. Everyone in the social circle is doing it and anyway it is great fun. But how do we break out of these years and get back to the straight and narrow as soon as possible. First of all it depends on how much negatively you have created and how much you want to change.
Written by Susan McKenzie
GROWING PAINS We were all young once. Think back to your youth. What do you regret? What do you wish you had done better? What would you do again the
nies, not to mention arguments and falling out with parents and other relatives, are all features of this tumultuous phase. Potentially, all of these are on the negative side of life. While some succumb to these negatives, many emerge stronger and wiser once they hit their 20’s and 30’s and take their place as responsible adults.
same way and what would you do differently? What close shaves did you have? What about your thought processes? Were you fearful of the future? Did you know what you wanted to be and what to achieve? Think about your thoughts: were they overall positive or negative? Did you have happiness or did you experience tragedy and dashed hopes? Could you resist the peer pressure or did you give into it?
NEGATE THE NEGATIVE WITH POSITIVES How negative are you? What do you
ADOLESCENT INDISCRETIONS Youth is a time of exploration and experimentation, it is about finding yourself and becoming an adult. Some sail through youth and onto adulthood with ease, while others flounder and flap through these difficult years. Drugs, sex, teenage pregnancy, violence, suicide, accidents, gangs, cigarettes, petty crime and serious felo-
PAGE 55
want? What do you like? Do you prefer associating with chums filled with negativity such as anger, hatred, bitterness, hopelessness, fearfulness, pessimism, selfishness, cruelty. Some people just prefer this, but are you one of those who hanker for more positivity? Qualities of a positive person include being optimistic, hopeful and having a faith in the present and the future. The question you have to ask yourself: Do you prefer to be a more positive person or remain a negative person? No one is usually totally positive and no one is usually totally negative. But it is about thinking about what are the dominant thoughts: overall positive or overall negative. WAVING A MAGIC WAND We cannot expect a happy life if we are filled with negativity but how many positive things will make us happy. Positivity can be like a magic wand: the moment you decide to be more continued on page 56