Writing about positive thinking is a bit of a challenge at any time, but a real balancing act during an election campaign. We must recognize the chronic complainers and whiners amongst us, lest we be pulled into their negativity.
It is important to remember that complaining about what is tends to produce more of the same.
If we focus on creating something better, we tend to manifest that better future.
It works the same way with nations as it does with individuals. This is the psychology of manifesting.
Furthermore, being emotionally positive and holding a “brightness of the future” is probably the single most important factor in a person’s living a long, healthy, happy life. If we as a society could stay more emotionally positive, there would be a lot less pressure to expand our present health care facilities.
The fears that accompany emotional negativity have a depressing effect on our health, self-esteem, and sense of well-being. Negativity wrecks marriages. Negativity hurts children. Prolonged negativity suppresses the body’s immune system.
It is particularly challenging for us to stay emotionally positive during an election campaign. Being positive helps us recognize which candidates and parties have the most optimistic vision for the future, as we are bombarded with waves of campaign-related negativity. If we stay emotionally positive, we are better able to distinguish between true vision and ill-afforded campaign promises in the context of endless speeches, television commercials, radio sound bites and newspaper ads.
An election is an invitation to all of us to think about what we want for the future of our province and country. An election gets us to think about what vision we hold for our collective futures.
Who is paying attention to due process? Many of our candidates make more speeches about what is wrong than they do about how they would create a better future. Sad!
Some have a positive focus. Because of a courageous and energetic politician with a positive vision, we have universal health care, a system which no amount of political whining and criticizing could ever have created. We Canadians could never have created our own flag and repatriated our constitution through whining and criticizing. It took vision and persistence on the part of our elected political leaders.
Unfortunately, many of our political figures cannot seem to rise above complaining about what is. They attempt to control our voting behaviour through fear, not thought. Opposition parties are particularly vulnerable to finding fault with what is, rather than leading us to a vision of a brighter future.
I invite you to reflect positively on a bright future for British Columbia, and then take your own counsel and vote. That’s democracy.
* Dr. Neill is a Central-Island Registered Psychologist. You can reach him at 250-752-8684 or through his website www.neillneill.com/