Sorry gang, the book in the title of this post is not mine.
Negative thinking is everywhere. I try to show others how it can be used for positive results. Normally, other speakers I have met, especially ones who deal with trying to maintain a positive attitude, don’t like my topic at all. They won’t take the time to consider what I’m talking about has value because quite frankly it opposes they happy-happy joy-joy bullshistic (that’s my word = holisitic+bullsh*t) mentality that I find annoying and unrealistic. Then there is the Kim and Jason. These two are the most positive people you could ever meet, yet understand the need and value of negative thinking. They talk about Adultitis and their new book “There’s an Adult in my Soup” is a collection of essays about how we as adults need to act more childlike. But like any good soup, it is peppered (see what I did there?) with examples of how negative thinking can allow you to be happier and enjoy life more.
Don’t believe it? Jason and Kim have allowed me this exclusive excerpt of the book you won’t find anywhere else that shows that being perfect is a lost cause:
You Are in Perpetual Beta Mode
by Jason Kotecki
Digital marketer Steve Rubel offered up the concept of life being a perpetual beta. For those of you non-techies out there, according to Wikipedia, “beta” is a concept used in the software industry to identify the first version of a program to be released outside the organization or community that develops the software, for the purposes of evaluation and testing.
Simply put, if it’s in beta mode, it ain’t perfect. Life is in perpetual beta. What a great reminder to us all, especially those of us who struggle with the Adultitis- driven tendencies to 1) consider ourselves perfect, 2) strive to be perfect, or 3) at the very least, appear to be perfect.
Kids don’t have any qualms about not being perfect. It doesn’t seem to bother them much. They color outside the lines, spill things from time to time, and aren’t all that concerned with wearing clothes that actually match. If they were serious about being perfect, I suppose they’d never learn how to walk or ride a bike (too much falling down).
Somewhere along the line, we get the idea that we have to have things figured out, and that everything has to go perfectly. We don’t give ourselves permission to make mistakes, we throw tantrums when other people don’t perform up to our standards, and we refrain from trying new things for fear that we might look foolish.
All this adds up to lots of stress and unhappiness.
We were taught growing up that nobody’s perfect, and yet we live our lives as though we should be. Should we strive to do the best that we can? Of course. But don’t kill yourself for perfection, because it ain’t gonna happen. (Wow! Two instances of the non-word ain’t in one article!—Make that THREE!)
I guarantee you’ll stress less if you keep in mind that you’re always in beta mode. Because as my friend Eliz Greene says, “It’s not about perfection, it’s about moving in the right direction.”
Negative thinking for positive results is about not being afraid to making mistakes, not trying to be perfect. Understanding that life is not always going to go as planned and that you don’t have to be another “Stepford” child who must be this ideal every second will make your life free of Adultitis.
How has negative thinking made your life less stressful? Let me know and you could win a copy of “There’s an Adult In My Soup”. I will give 1 copy of Kim and Jason’s new book to the best answer! Either post a comment here at the blog or email me at Craig@speakercraigprice.com.
