The Power Of Negative Thinking
Bill Buckner was a great baseball player and played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball. He was an All Star and won a battling title along with many other accomplishments. Except people will remember him for the error he made in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets. Buckner’s Boston Red Sox led the series 3 games to 2. The Sox were ahead 5-3 in the bottom of the tenth inning. With 2 outs, the Sox needed just one out to win the World Series. Then, the Mets Mookie Wilson hit a ground ball down the first base line. It was an easy play for the veteran first baseman. All Buckner had to do was field it and step on first base. Game over. Except, Buckner made an error allowing the ball to go through his legs. The Mets went on to win the game and the World Series.
We’ll never know 100% what was going through Buckner’s head during that play, but we have a pretty good idea. Negative thoughts are multiple times more powerful than positive thoughts.
You see, weeks before the 1986 World Series, Bill Buckner was in a recorded interview where he says, “The dream would be to win the world series. But my real nightmare would be to let the game-winning run score on a ground ball through my legs to cost us the World Series.” He said his negative thoughts out loud.
Words are things. Just as viruses are highly effective at hijacking our genetic material, negative words, especially spoken out loud, do the same with our subconscious. Negative words can reprogram our thoughts about ourselves and the world around us. It can determine success or failure. Thinking negative thoughts increases the odds that what you don’t want to happen will happen. Saying your negative thoughts out load will increase the odds by 10. Giving voice to your fears can and will program your subconscious. It’s your subconscious that drives your daily habits and behaviors. Thinking and speaking negative thoughts can cause you to behave in a way that arranges the world around. You’ll draw in the people, places and circumstances that allow the negative thoughts to become reality.
It’s important to think positive thoughts but I believe that removing negative thoughts is even more important. Speaking negative thoughts is therefore something we should avoid at all costs. It can be the difference between success and failure.
1 thought on “The Power Of Negative Thinking”
You are SO correct, every action we take is preceded by a thought. So if I am to take positive fulfilling actions in my life it starts with my thoughts always.
Thoughts also preceded my speech! Thanks Coach powerful article. Spot On!!