2 Negatives make a Positive???

We grew up studying this rule in Mathematics — that 2 negatives make a positive. Maths being my least favourite subject I could not make sense of this rule then, and as I grew up I never could find a scenario in real life too where negativity somehow led to positivity automatically.

In fact, it was the complete opposite. It required a lot of strength, courage and determination to come out of the negativity that surrounded you to start thinking something positive.

However, the question of the hour is — why is negativity so attractive and comforting? Is it because we submit to it so easily and it seeks our attention? Is it because as Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman — "The bad stuff is easier to believe?"

Personally, I have loved my experience with negativity. When things did not go the way I wanted to, I found it easier to say "My bad luck" and spent no time and energy in figuring out why it went wrong. It was easier to fall on the couch, cry it out and then stay irritated with everything.

Life continued with a crawling pace and somewhere my negativity and I became too comforting for each other.

It was a nice and sunny day in London — one of those days which instantly lifts your mood. I decided to make the most of the day and took my book and walked to the park. While immersed in my book I got a forwarded message from a very dear friend with the text — "Keep that glass down."

The video that followed talked about how we carry our stresses. A professor asked a class how heavy a glass of water was. The answers varied — 200g, 500g. He said it doesn't matter how heavy it is. What matters is how long you hold it. Hold it for a minute — fine. An hour — your arm aches. A day — you'll be paralyzed.

The stresses in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while — that's normal. Think about them a bit longer — they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed.

Put the glass down.