There is a difference, however, between a genuinely good attitude and the appearance of a good attitude. This difference is crucial to your success. When you pretend to have a positive attitude, you are trying to convince others that you are happy and positive. If you have a genuinely good attitude there is no need to convince others; one simply is happy and positive. Additionally, a positive attitude orients you to benevolence. Benevolence is the general feeling of good will towards others without regard to individuals.
The best way to cultivate a good attitude is to think positively. When I wrote my book on Purpose,[1] I discovered an excellent exercise to help in cultivating a positive attitude. Essentially, it involved positing positive
attitudes against their opposite negative attitudes. This process enables you to solidify in your mind the kind of thinking you need to change negative attitudes into positive ones. Below is a table to use as an example. Below each attitude are blank lines that help you write your thoughts down. I have inserted some comments to give you the general approach that positivity entails.
Life
Death
General Disposition
Positive
Negative
The basic positive attitude requires reason and a focus upon reality. The primacy of existence is the idea that existence is primary and that understanding the nature of existence, the real, is paramount in having a positive attitude.
The negative is a focus on the zero, death, un-being, nothingness – there is no argument for it.
Light
Darkness
A metaphor that connotes positivity
A metaphor that connotes negativity
Peace of Mind – no worry about the future
Panic – always worry about what will happen
Peace of mind comes from certainty about metaphysical reality. Existence Exists.
The future is uncertain because the mind is uncertain. The Supernatural can lead to doubt and fear.
Love of Mankind
Anger and Conflict with other men
This is a general view of man’s nature. Is he good or evil by nature? If you think he is good by nature you are prone to have better relations with people.
If you think men are evil by nature or weak, you will find lots of conflict with others and even yourself. Confusion is the result.
Hope for good
Dread/Despair about the future
Hope is positive, an expectation that good will happen if one thinks and acts out of positive notions
This is anti-hope, the opposite of positive expectations. It is a very powerful force that suppresses happiness
Optimism
Pessimism
Optimism is another term for hope but more certain of a good outcome
Another term for despair but more philosophical as it is supported by a general sense of reality
Metaphysics
Existence
Non-existence/Nihilism (Primacy of Consciousness)
How to tie the positive to existence:
Understand that existence is the real and you can only be positive about what you know with certainty. Certainty is knowing reality/existence. Existence has primacy – but more than this, it is.
Non-existence has no relation to existence/reality. It is a negative concept and, in reality, the negative does not exist and has no presence in reality and in the mind. Non-existence “is” “non”, it has no presence in reality
Science
Mysticism
Science is the study of existence. It is based on the primacy of existence. Existence is the only presence, the only reality and in logic that means A is A.
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Mysticism is the contemplation and adherence to non-existence. It is the essence of negativity and is based on the false premise that consciousness, by itself, is the only reality. It is the practice of non-existence, the negative.
Truth/Good Epistemology
Falsehood (False Characteristics create False Concepts
Truth can only be found by connecting concepts to existence. This is done by the individual defining his concepts according to accurate “defining characteristics”
Falsehood comes from bad epistemologies that lead to lies or mistakenly defined characteristics of things and/or adherence to them through false premises. It can lead to false notions and eventually nihilism.
Knowledge
Ignorance
Knowledge results from good epistemology, good/true concepts which leads to true identification of reality and correct action based on reality.
Ignorance is the opposite of knowledge. It is based on bad epistemology, concepts wrongly defined which lead, in action to poor decisions.
Logical
Illogical
Takes the principle that “A is A” and applies it consistently to all thinking.
Rejects the principle that “A is A” and seeks a none-standard that leads to anti-mind and anti-man thinking.
Truth
The Irrational and Untrue
Truth = objectivity
Truth is rejection of existence, the non-standard, the non-real, the non-man, the zombie.
Reason
Irrationality
Logic and objectivity applied to all thinking from A is A to the widest abstractions.
Logic is just a different opinion.
Reality
Supernatural
A synonym for “Existence”, reality refers more specifically to the world of things and anything which is said to exist.
A world presumed by mystics to exist outside of the natural world. It describes the essence of mysticism and religion, a false concept that has not been “proven” to exist.
Morality
Concerned about Positive Values and Achieving them
Concerned about what people think or do
Positive values are based on the standard of life. They lead to life and are based upon love of existence which is the source of all life and happiness.
Negative values are focused on the secondary on the views of others and therefore are disconnected from existence. They are haphazard and eventually destructive.
Active Living
Depression and Doubt
This is the development and active pursuit of values by means of integrating action to the goal of value pursuit.
This is the avoidance of active living by negative thinking.
Personal Situation
Freedom of Action
Tension
Only a rational person, one connected to reality, can be free to act rationally.
The negative person is not free to act rationally. He has no order or consistency because he is not connected to reality. His actions are controlled because that is the only action he can take.
In Charge of Your Life
Life is Controlled by others
Requires life-serving decisions and actions. Requires reason.
Requires altruism and collectivism, dependence and inability to make life-serving decisions.
Liberty
Fight/Flight/Freeze
Liberty refers to your freedom to make your own decisions in life and to live for your own self-interest.
The restriction of liberty (within the individual) is the response to fear of the opinions of others as they relate to your personal choices. Altruism is the source of these opinions of others.
Grounded
Uprooted
Grounded. Conceptual with good concepts.
Separated from reality. The anti-conceptual mentality.
Happiness
Depression
The successful state of life when the mind is connected to reality and integrated with the body and its needs.
The failed condition when the mind is disconnected from reality by negative and faulty thinking methods and rationalizations.
Solid Personhood
Vulnerable
Habitual reliance on reason builds a solid person. Reason is the sourc
e of the human power to affect reality and survive well.
Vulnerable to the vicissitudes of reality-cause and effect because weak or disconnected from reality. Vulnerable to evil men because one does not know they must be fought.
Independence of Mind and Ideas
Dependence of Mind and Ideas
Reason can only come from an independent mind.
The mind mired to dependence upon the ideas of other people will always be dependent.
Living
Dying
This is the ultimate choice that guides all thinking and acting.
The opposite (negative) of living.
Thinking
Brooding
True thinking is focusing on reality which yields tangible positive results and confidence.
Brooding is negative thinking about something wrong and negative emotions of anger and futility.
Consciousness
Unthinking and Unconsciousness
Consciousness of reality means a positive view of “what is”. It is a process for knowing not for making reality.
Unthinking is relinquishing the responsibility. Unconsciousness is the absence of focus and un-thinking about the real.
Mindfulness
Refusal to Think
The ability to use your mind in a self-directed way that will positively affect your life.
The conscious choice to let emotions guide your choices, sometimes automatized and automatic after a time.
Mind/Body Unity
Mind/Body Split
When mind and body are a unit, there is no conflict and the individual functions more efficiently and can achieve happiness.
When mind and body are split, there is conflict, disorder and unhappiness.
Winning at Life
Losing at Life
Good values, good actions = love of life = happiness.
Disvalues, wrong actions = hatred of life = unhappiness.
Objective Philosophy
Subjective Philosophy
Objective reality – Primacy of Existence.
Primacy of Consciousness – Duty.
Full Relaxation
Unease and High Blood Pressure
Stress-free living – moral living, primacy of existence, peace of mind, integrated mind and body.
Immoral living, primacy of consciousness, out of context thinking, concrete-bound thinking, anti-conceptual mentality, dis-ease, mental disorder.
Healthy Eating
Unhealthy Eating
Count calories, sugar, cholesterol, sodium, etc. And eat right.
Eat to die, et to make you feel better, to avoid life.
Happiness/Moral Living
Immoral Living
Defining values and making rational choices = happiness.
Having no standards of value. Making decisions emotionally = unhappiness. Refusal to think = misery.
Creating
Destroying or Not Creating
Creating requires combining the parts of reality for life-enhancing uses. It requires knowledge of reality, imagination and integration as well as value-definition.
These require nothing and lead to depression and unhappiness. They lead eventually to “acting out” and nihilism.
Exercise/Activity
Sedentary/Inactivity
Keep energy flowing. Keep life flowing. Keep body active and efficacious.
Give life away. Cease activity. Give up. Die.
Organization of Life
Disorganization and Unconcern about Life
Focus on values and goals with life as the standard. Keep a written record of your values and order them hierarchically.
Floating through life. Give little thought to values. Ignore goals and plans.
Know that metaphysical world is not conscious
Think that physical reality is a thinking entity
Accept the real and that it is the only universe but it operates according to its nature and has no thought of choice.
Mysticism – Reality is conscious – the world’s worst and most dangerous concept. Reality does not think or act or choose.
Judge the man-made
Fear men and what they do
This is an issue of justice and identifying whether the acts of people are positive or negative.
Fear of the thoughts of men and the refusal to judge represents and inordinate amount of fear of human consciousness. It implies the Primacy of Consciousness.
Competence (in myself)
Incompetence (in myself)
An active mind, practiced in reason, will achieve competence and moral acumen.
An inactive mind is an insecure mind.
Doing the right thing
Doing the wrong thing
The right thing is the moral thing. It requires looking at reality and thinking, the result is happiness and satisfaction.
Refusal to think leads to doing the wrong thing and leads to failure and unhappiness.
Admiration of competence in others
No admiration for Inefficacy
This is a matter of justice – knowing of good and rewarding it.
Results from not thinking clearly or refusing to think. Admiring inefficacy is nihilism.
Reward value
Reward disvalue
Justice for the good is more important than punishing the evil.
Rewarding disvalue is the opposite of justice and harms the good.
Rational
Irrational
The rational mind is consistent in its adherence to reality. To be rational is to be correct.
The irrational avoids reason and is therefore wrong and failed.
Conceptual Definition accuracy
Conceptual Land Mine (poorly defined characteristics of concepts)
Clear, precise definition mean clear, precise thinking. Not all concepts are created equal. Is there an issue you are dealing with that conceptual clarity can help you with?
Conceptual moral equivalency is a mixture of vague concepts with clear concepts – sloppy thinking. Moral travesty is thereby enabled. I call this the mixed economy of human thought.
Cognitive Precision
Cognitive Imprecision
Concepts are units of consciousness of reality. They are how I see. Their precision determines my accuracy of learning reality.
Poorly defined concepts are the cause of failure and understanding.
Integration of Knowledge
Disintegration of Knowledge
Since reality is an integrated whole, knowledge must be integrated with other knowledge. This yields full understanding.
Miss-integration is the splitting or separation of non-knowledge. Miss-integration is “knowledge” based on mysticism and/or rationalism. They destroy man’s focus (or scatter it) on reality and his acquisition of consistent knowledge.
Integration of Knowledge
Miss-integration of Knowledge
Same as above.
Miss-integration is the splitting out of non-knowledge. Miss-integration is “knowledge” based on mysticism and/or rationalism. These concepts destroy man’s focus (or scatter it) on reality and his acquisition of integrated knowledge.
Truth
Contradiction
Truth is the expression of what is real and actual.
Contradiction is the expression of what is not real or actual.
Personal Hygiene
Shaved
Unshaved
Well-groomed
Scruffy/Dusty
Bathed
Unbathed
Teeth Brushed
Teeth Un-brushed
Physical Health
Exercise Daily with Weights
Skip Exercise with Weights
Walk Daily
Skip Walk
Yoga Daily
Skip Yoga
Meditation Daily
Skip Meditation
Smiling/Laughing
Frowning/Crying
Healthy-range Blood Pressu
re Under 120/80
High Blood Pressure (Above 140 Systolic)
Relations with Others
Trust
Prejudiced
Recognition that there is Nothing to Fear from People – Love of People – Expressing Love or Appreciation to People – Thinking Positively about People
Fear of People/Need to Escape – Thinking that I Don’t have the Energy for it – Wanting to Get Away from Them
An important issue related to attitude is the decision to take on leadership. A good leader “jumps in” and acts when it is called for. When other people are looking around to see who is going to act, the future leader will take it upon himself to act and guide others to a successful solution. He isn’t afraid of what people will think. In fact, he is looking for precisely this situation in order to express his value and he seizes the opportunity to give value to his company. And when the union member criticizes him for doing something he is not paid to do, he ignores him and keeps on giving value.
How to Be a Great Employee And a Greater Manager Page 2