You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought (The Life 101 Series)

I write and work in metaphysics so I've read all kinds of new thought books about positive thinking and affirmations. What I like about this book is that it is very honest about dealing with negative emotions. We all have them and you can't put a band-aid on them by just thinking up an affirmation that is the exact opposite to a negative thought. In my own life, I have had difficulty with these kinds of affirmations. You have to be able to believe the affirmation and if your subconscious mind is fighting what you are saying, you're not going to get very far. You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought advises you to just become aware of your thoughts and to slowly train yourself to pause before reacting to a negative situation. You can acknowledge a negative experience, but they remind you that you have a choice as to how you REACT to that negative event. We can't go through life just saying "Everything is Great!" and ignoring problems and negative sitations. These things exist for a reason. Otherwise, we'd all live in a utopian society and not experience negativity in the first place. Our power lies in the choices we make every day about how we will respond to things that happen to us. I generally think of myself as a positive person, but when I began to focus on the suggestions in this book, I realized how many times in a day I become fearful when I face a negative or uncertain situation. Using the process of this book was freeing for me because it reminded me that I do not have to do what I've always done just because it is familiar to me. While some situations are extremely difficult to postpone reacting to, if you can free up your energy from reacting to small irritations, you use less of the energy that your body needs for situations that are REALLY stressful. The point is not to never react negatively ever again. The point is to not waste energy every day on little things that we have no control over. Save your energy for times when you will really need it. This book is particularly geared for those facing life-threatening illnesses such as cancer or AIDS. It gives you tools to shift your energy and regain your sense of control. The book delicately suggests that some readers may have chosen death for a reason (whether positively or negatively) and that the purpose of the book is to let go of the stress and negativity which may be exacerbating the illness. In some cases, this can bring about an intense desire to live and provide the body with energy and resources needed to heal itself. In other cases, it brings a greater sense of peace about accepting death. If you are in good physical health, there is still benefit from this book. It works as a magnifying glass on your mental and emotional selves so that you can acheive greater balance and personal satisfaction.

I have battled depression on and off for much of my life, and I have to say that this is the best self-help book I have ever read. It is absolutely wonderful. It makes you want to memorize every quote and every precious, uplifting word of wisdom. Some people might say that the things in this book are common sense, but if that's the case, when I look around I see that common sense isn't so common! This book really is a must have for anyone who wants to improve their disposition and feel better emotionally.

...if you are like me, you get tired of feeling terrible about yourself. "What have I done to feel this blue, why do I deserve this treatment, how come I feel like I'm a magnet for all the bad things that could happen to a person..." I would ask myself many a time. Life truly is not worth feeling rotten about, especially if you had not done anything to feel rotten about. I've discovered that I was feeling bad because I either had not or could not meet somebody else's standards. And believe me, no matter what I've done, like take out the trash, for instance, there was someone who let me know how inadequate the job I did was...I was a hopeless sap. Then there is the entire matter of some people needing to feel like they have bested me just cause that's how things are...Church did not help me because it seemed to me that it was filled with the self same people I was trying to avoid. (Church folk can really make you feel bad, you know?) So instead of changing them, I decided I would change myself and my own attitudes. I tripped upon the book browsing at a local mall. The title caught my eye and I grabbed it and raced for the checkout. It is an easy to read, easy to digest book of 600 some pages. The left page side of the book has one or two applicable quotes of any one from like Kermit the Frog to important hifalootin philosophers like Goethe. If the reader just wants to flip through these qoutes like a daily affirmation, he could do so...John-Roger and Peter on the right hand side of the book gives the reader the why's, the when's, and the how's of negative thoughts and how to not focus on them...it is something that has helped me a lot and I hope the reader will find it is helpful, too...

. . for those of us who suffer from the disease of negativity. Written with humor, lightness, and heart, this book is thick, but an easy-read. Helpful and a book that you can go back to again and again. Everyone who's suffered from low self-esteem, or too much negativity, should have this one in their library. Anyone can use these helpful hints, and it's expressed in a way that's easy to grasp.

You really can't afford the luxury of a negative thought, and you can't afford not to read this book. It is he kind of book you can read a few pages of and then walk away from it feeling like you just received a huge dose of positive thoughts. This book has become a bible for me in my quest for positive thinking and laughter. And, I am constantly citing its lessons as I talk to others. It's a book full of energy and great perspective. It isn't impossible for this book to challenge some of your closely held beliefs either!