The big weakness of positive thinking is that it often blinds us to the pitfalls that we might face. We rush in brimming with confidence and when the first thing goes wrong, we don’t know how to react.

The power of negative thinking is that we work all this out in our heads. We’ve already embarrassed ourselves by tripping over our words and we’ve faced the calamity of absolute failure… in our own minds.

Then when we hit the stage and it’s time to get to work, we can better face the challenges and difficulties of doing work in the real world.

Our negative thinking must not stop us from starting, but it should be the motivator for better preparation. In that way, negative thinking and doubting yourself is one of the best things you can do to get ready for the next big thing you’re trying to do.

Eternal optimists fail to see their own weaknesses, and therefore they don’t improve them.

Optimism is good, but negative thinking can be one of the most effective things you do for yourself if you are trying to get better at what you do.