In Robert Greene's book of daily meditations, The Daily Laws, the "law" for October 12th is all about how we ought not to let our emotions cloud our judgement.
"You must see your emotional responses to events as a kind of disease that must be remedied," he writes. We overestimate our enemy when we are fearful, act rashly when angry or impatient, go too far when overconfident.
It is said that "love is blind," but for Robert Greene it is what love blinds you to that matters most; it will blind you to the treachery of those whom you supposed were on your side.
"The only remedy," he says, "is to be aware that the pull of emotion is inevitable, to notice it when it is happening, and to compensate for it."
An Example of the Value of "Negative Thinking"
Today's meditation is based on something he wrote in the Preface to his 2006 book, 33 Strategies of War and I think it is a good example of a theme that he is currently working on, namely, the power of negative thinking. Once you notice yourself being carried along on a wave of emotion you have an opportunity to engage in some powerful "negative thinking" and say to yourself... "No, I will NOT indulge this emotion... I will NOT act on this feeling [of self righteous anger]."
Negative Thinking in Online Business
One possible business application for Internet marketers...
Next time we are attracted to the latest "shiny new object" to hit the Internet business-to-business scene and feel an irrational desire to buy into it... notice the emotion and refrain from taking action. You don't even have to tell yourself that you won't buy it, just don't buy it today. In this sense, the "power of negative thinking" can be a positive force for good in our life.
Cheers!
David Hurley
#InspiredFocus
#Index4Index
Sources:
The Daily Laws, by Robert Greene
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Photo by Author Robert Greene - https://www.flickr.com/photos/88088424@N08/8052329908/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22010328