A State of Mind

Negative word choices used to describe ourselves can be debilitating. They can harm both the physical body and the mind and have long lasting emotional effects that permeate all areas of our lives. We often do not consciously note the tone in which we speak, the words we use or the frequency in which we use negative constructs. But take a moment to reflect. Have you told yourself you "lost" x, when describing yourself? That you "can't" do something because of some imagined limitation? Accepted a negative diagnostic "label"? Read an article that describes you, your nation or your country in a particularly negative manner and  believed it? Why is this act of self harm so prevalent and can anything be done to counter it?

A habit leads a man so gently in the beginning that he does not perceive he is led - with what silken threads and down what pleasant avenues it leads him! By and by, the soft silk threads become iron chains, and the pleasant avenues Avernus! 

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

First, we must learn to recognise the negative trait and how it manifests. Without that first step we cannot address it, reverse the damage nor hope to over come it. 

Negativity is like a red danger beacon hardwired into our brains. We have a tendency to fixate on the negative as it would have meant the difference between life and death. We, therefore, spend more time and energy trying to find solutions in order to survive. These days that red danger beacon goes off for all the wrong reasons. We do not need the warning signal for most of our everyday lives so the brain turns in on itself and all the negativity directed at you, your nation and even your country gets absorbed. Instead of being held in equilibrium the body and mind's response is a negative reaction with no positive action taking place and when one absorbs the negative energy others give out it becomes hard to tell where one's own negative thoughts and feelings start and end and where those of others begin. In short, negativity acts like a drug. We crave it. We are drawn to it and will happily accept it in order to get that "fix", even to the detriment of our own well being. 

This trait is used to exploit people, nations and countries. Most people wish to be regarded as virtuous and sympathetic. They want  their "reputation" to reflect that.  Phrases like "It is to your credit..." are also reflected in the material world where people are scored on their creditworthiness. The more you signal your virtuousness the more you are awarded. At least in principle but in reality it has very little to do with virtue. Governments use this tactic to make nations fall in line with policies that are detrimental to their personal well being, nation and or country, that are outright inhumane and or promote corporate greed. Knowing that people focus on the negative and have an innate need to appear virtuous and sympathetic they deliver well crafted speeches and use media to optimise the negative reaction while preventing positive solutions and actions from taking place.

A collective wounded psyche

Many nations and countries have been colonised over the centuries and share many of the same negative thought processes. Traits that have been passed on over generations by kith and kin who have been subjected to a barrage of negativity of one's self, one's nation and one's country. These traits are symptoms stemming from a false perception predominantly of lack of control coupled with an aversion to responsibility which is caused by the wounded psyche.

What are the symptoms of a wounded psyche?

• Inferiority - both ethnical and cultural, position of authority and status
• Shame - in one's appearance, culture, language and history
• Insecurity - requiring validation
• Estrangement - both ethnical and cultural
• Inadequacy - in education, arts and culture, language and history
• Unworthiness - a sense of being unintelligent, poor, not good enough
• Unaccountable - things are not of your own making. They are done to you.

The above are a subset of symptoms found within the wounded psyche which rests with 3 key beliefs:

• Negative experiences and events will continue
• Blame lies elsewhere
• Failure to effect change

These can be overcome by taking the time and effort to address each of the symptoms and beliefs as they manifest. By envisioning positive solutions one can become proactive and take steps to counter the innate  negative bias. The first step is to take responsibility. How we perceive ourselves forms how we manifest our beliefs in the material world. While others may seek to tear down, to control the self image, what one thinks, how one interacts and even the terminology and language that one uses, they have no power when one takes responsibility for one's self, one's nation or indeed one's country. The power to affect change rests with oneself. And with that power the realisation one can do whatever one sets one's mind to.

Alter one's perception to alter one's reality