I watched a Ted Talk by Benjamin Zander about the difference between possibility and positive thinking.
I’ve always been one to seek and lean into possibility. Early in my career I was drawn to work in climate change not only because it was a global issue I really cared about, but also because it was filled with possibility. The Kyoto Protocol had just been signed and there was a lot of energy around almost 200 countries working together to mitigate climate change. There was a dynamic integration between technology, economics, policy, corporate leadership, international cooperation, and capacity building. As a climate change consultant, I used to say I worked in everything related to climate change except the science because the science was the only place I couldn’t find possibility or hope. The science was too depressing because I could see that we were speeding towards disaster. But I could find meaning and possibility in people coming together to do something about it from multiple lenses.
By contrast, Benjamin Zander speaks about positive thinking being a bit forced, pretending things are good when they might not be. He goes so far as to call positive thinking a fraud. I think that might be a bit harsh. I’m generally an optimist and I do feel there is value in taking a positive outlook in many circumstances, that there is benefit in looking for the good, building from strengths, reframing, and being generative. But there can be times when positive thinking is less than ideal when it denies, invalidates, or minimizes genuine emotions, experiences, or problems.
Being in possibility goes beyond mindset. It lives in the land of creation. It’s about transforming hopes and dreams into something real. That is super exciting to me.
And possibility is also a rigorous discipline. There are definitely days I get discouraged with the hard things going on in the world. But I can always find the doorway to possibility — not just in thinking positively about the situation, but finding the pathway to where change can happen.
What resonates with you about these two concepts?
