Why the Negative, or the Shocking is winning over the Positive and Uplifting?
Best to: View Large and On Black
Have you ever wondered how come we humans react so much more, and with so much more passion to the negative or shocking news than to the positive and uplifting? What is it that makes us crave for the worst instead of the best? Because of it – I feel so repelled by people that are using their negativity to spread it around as some kind of disease, a virus of hate… And for sometime now I am ending relationships with anyone who is spreading negativity and bad feelings around. As I wish NOT to be “sickened” by them, and help spread unknowingly perhaps, this virus.
No matter what I do, or am trying to do however, these folks do seem to thrive and go on with whatever they are trying to achieve. Take as example the blog review about “Totallly-Useless” that was posted today on BlogCatalog.com:
Robert Said:
The word philosophy is from the Greek..philo love Sophia wisdom. A lover of wisdom or more to the point a searcher for absolute truths. You cannot have a personal philosophy only a personal viewpoint, as absolute truths are not personal by definition.
Robert UK
Rating: 1 | Posted: Wednesday August 20th, 2008 at 04:06 | Report This Comment
This “Robert UK” figure did not even have a blog submitted on BlogCatalog, and yet, he came there and trashed with his “rating of a mere 1″ this blog.
Besides, who is he, this anonymous Robert UK, to come to tell me that there is no such thing as a “personal philosophy” but only a “personal view point?” And is it not that on my own blog I can call things as I decide to call them? And having a “personal philosophy” is very much part of it… No matter what such Robert’s of UK decide to rate my blog with 
Another example of how the Negative is getting more attention than the Positive are the amounts of people checking for such news stories, and when they find them, be it online, or on TV, or in newspapers, they have no time or attention left for all the positive news stories there. Research has shown time and time again the people feel more alive, and energized when they can react strongly on a negative story than in the same manner to a positive one. How come? Because the negative is feeding us with hormones that make us feel ready to fight, or ready to start a tirade with strong words. The positive on the other hand makes us relax and enjoy whatever we are reading, or hearing, or viewing. When we feel at piece we could easily be alone and feel great. On the other hand – negativity needs company, and makes us search for an audience with which we could share how upset we are. Perhaps we humans need the stress more than we need happiness and bliss. And if this is indeed so, I do refuse to be part of it…
And, than I think that making my point won’t be a problem. Trying to stop myself from elaborating on every possible detail – well, that might be.
Best to: View Large and On Black
Now I’d love to hear, or shall I say – read, your point of view in regards. Wishing you all a happy and stress free week ahead
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Sad isn’t it, love your pics by the way very cool.
People like the negative because it makes them feel superior to the person or thing they are cutting down, sick about your review, look at my stars on my BC, 2.3 out of 5 , I know how you feel. Why do people insist on spreading cancerous shit like the comment left behind by Mister know it all Robert, again because it somehow gives them self importance, very sad, in a day and age where we should be uplifting to one another we aren’t.
Bobs last blog post..Black holes Goes Micro, Cern’s LHC Starts Up September 10
Totally answered:
Thank you for stopping by Bob and for your opinion in regards, and I really appreciate especially your last line…
And have a great weekend my friend
August 27th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
This is something I always try to remind myself of. When I’m driving, or doing something while I have time to think, I try to think and be thankful for the blessings in my life, not just sit and be sad over the things that aren’t going how I want.
Amanda
Networking4Biz
August 30th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Love your blog! There is a saying that relates to “The negative winning over the positive—no news is good news.” And some people are drawn to the down side of everything. How sad.
May Your Glass Always Be Half Full
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:05 am
well robert was right you can’t have a personal philosiphy…but he was wrong because you can’t have an absolute truth…please name one…
and we look to the negative because being contented leads nowhere if we were all happy would we strive to better ourselves and our lives?…i sincerely doubt it we want good paying jobs because we are envious whether we would like to admit that or not
and you post your blogs why?…as if you have a revolutionary point of view or your making the world a better place…purposeless honestly…but entertaining none the less…
and you should be thrilled with a rating of one…good writers look for the reader to draw something from thier novels and great ones could care less…asking for more is just selfish
but what do i know im only 17
may you be constantly miserable striving for something better
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Thank you Amanda and Maxi for your heartfelt comments, that are dear to me
While you Bryson, for being a 17 years old, seem very bitter with your negative outlook on life, and far more knowledgeable than a 17 years old could be, unless you are some kind of a genius? Besides, where did you find the time to study philosophy and know a lot about it? Next time you leave comment on this blog – check your own URL link, and if it goes into a 404 error it will be deleted. The same goes about what you write and how you write it, as negativity is not accepted in here. Your wish dear Bryson – may it get back to you thrice!
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
there is the link to my facebook its the best i can do and as a matter of fact im no genius but i do alright…and im not bitter…im just a good old german heritage pessimistic machievellian pragmatist…it is my nature to view things as necessary, justified, and inherentley bad
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:59 pm
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=36426720770
October 24th, 2008 at 10:43 am
I’ll try and answer the question first before I respond to Robert UK and Bryson. It seems like people are drawn to negatives because their souls still have much learning to do. An older souled individual(and I’m sure we’ve all come across them from time to time) are quite happy to be involved with experiences that posses truth as well as positivity and enlightenment. These older souled individuals however are quite rare compared to the amount of younger souled folk out there. So it can be very discouraging when trying to find someone else who enjoys a spiritually uplifting and motivating moment. A moment that is somewhat dependent on a deep spiritual thirst for knowledge. Younger souls don’t find these negative experiences dull and obtrusive because they still have much to learn from them. In fact they get excited to come across such situations, not because they know of their own lacking experience but because they are drawn to it much like a moth to a flame (trust me, just like the moth these “younger souls” will learn violent and chaotic lessons at times).
In regards to Robert UK: From what I gathered (and I’ll get straight to the point) you’re trying to say that a personal philosophy can’t be personal. Now don’t tell me that you don’t see the semantical fallacy in that one. If its personal then its personal! The word philosophy is not a synonym for truth. There for it can be personal especially if it is described as so. I agree that truth cannot be personal, but ya poor dude….within all your efforts to be smart your combining the two premises into one big illogical mess.
In regards to Bryson: Bryson you get the honor of being wrong twice. Read “In regards to Robert UK” above for discovering your first leap from logic. Secondly Robert was being redundant by stating the phrase “absolute truth”. Truth IS absolute…that is the intrinsic value of truth regardless of the context. Truths are hard to come by thats for sure, but they do exist. Take for example…”I think therefore I am”. Now you may be saying “well that is a personal truth”. Not at all my friend. If I know I exist in some fashion it doesn’t matter if no one else exists. If I’m the only thing that exists then my statement is an absolute truth. If I’m not the only thing that exists then anything that does exist exists along with me. There can’t be two things that exist without them existing with each other. Therefore the statement “I think therefore I am” applies to everything that exists and hence is an absolute truth. “What is true for the group is true for the individual” And vice versa.
In addition to Bryson: Your response to the main question was completely erratic. You said “we look to the negative because being content leads nowhere”. Wow. That doesn’t really answer the question. If we are content why would we be so infatuated with the negative or anything else for that matter. Looking at the rest of what you said I could easily sit here and pick apart everything you’ve mentioned but my goal isn’t to put you down (even though my criticism is a bit rough) but rather to give you something to think about. Blogs, along with other forms of interaction, are a means of communication. We don’t participate in them as a means for boosting some kind of revolutionary ego trip. Interacting with others is experience that brings forth knowledge and growth. To call that “purposeless” is just you showing your own negative colors. And for crying out loud why would you wish misery on anyone. I really hope you have the nerve to respond.
As for my friend who posted the Question:
Excellent question. I really enjoyed replying to you. I answered to the best of my ability. Kudos to those who replied and gave their opinion with integrity and “Positivity”. Maybe Bryson is the very type of person that we’re talking about here. He’s drawn towards this negativity. Glad we could have a real life example amid the very discussion.
Peace All.
October 24th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Bryson, I wasn’t really asking for a URL of yours to check your ID and such. The point being – if you leave a URL on this blog – it should be a working one, or just don’t post a URL, as I hate dead links and so do the SE’s.
And I am grateful for your visit and writings on Totally Useless, as it really was a good example of what I was trying to convey in the post – people being drawn to the negative stuff in life, and yearning for it.
Thank you MBMM for your participation in this post, and I loved the ‘fresh wind” so much needed in here together with the wisdom you shared
My deepest respect for your abilities and knowledge, and you seem to be one of the older souls yourself my friend, and hope to see you again soon 
November 20th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
dichotomy deludes- here comes a lengthy parable-
America is now full of hope. Hope appears to be positive but fame (which is a more “masculine”, and thus outdated hope) is no longer percieved as such. It will not be long before people are faced with the fact that “femine” (more universal, species centered) hopes are equally distortions of nature and illusion. I feel that relaxing, which i take as akin to meditation, is empowering (as opposed to “chilling out”). This relaxing, as i practice and experience it (i.e.; listening to “the now”), is quite devoid of an opinion about something. Kinda like your philosophy that “useless things” is a misnomer it quietly strips things from what they are not and leaves them tranquilized as cold thoughts. Words to music is very similar to this, even if people try desperately to make it say a tunnelVISION the fact that it is music will always seperate it from our own being and thereby already offer two VIEWS.
The thing is dichotomy is good for putting things on ‘em shelves & the bad labels are abundant. Meditating or thinking is not popular & the lack of labeling (not that this would be good) of good stuff requires input from the spectator. To me this is proof that only those things which are truely “good” exist the rest are illusions that ‘exist’ only by negating what is real. We strive to exist but the illusions tell people that their feelings of love and belief ( i’m using these in the very metaphysical,subjective sense)
cannot find fertile soil. To liken the attraction to bad news to animals is to materialistic a science (it’s treating animals as either (vulture or) predator (and not herbivore for instance) which does not suit any animal). It is a knee-jerk reaction in a growingly degressing (i wouldn’t use the metaphor of childlike here) peer pressure society to first be ‘tickled’ by the bad-news-tease then to become masochistic with this experience. Thru identification disguised as rejection (which happens thru projection)
people come to believe they experience pleasure thru seeing for example someone being punched or whatever boring thingymadching (For this is the endresult, it brings forth an over-sensitive species which sees threats in acts that can never hurt what it truely is, the energies of “love” “belief”, and whatever you in your case feel so strong about). A viscious circle (of supply and demand, the blind leading….) is decimating the “soul” , called (mesmerizing thru) media/ having “friends” on the internet,…. . But saying this all i really wrote here (that is’nt that bothersome diagnozing-a-virus)is better summed up by people being genuinely thankfull and respectfull to eachother or having a meta-blog (of fun) like you did here
I am almost Thirty but always devoted to being “good”. Personally i think the age difference (in selfrestraint) is a mixture of a difference in number and the strange modern times
November 20th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
prev comment was mine forgot email . I’m a bit of a lover of cautiousness so i didn’t leave me real name
November 20th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
almso the younger people are brought up in which irrational patricide is a product (of psychopathy)
and the old adages are targets for the all too moralistic (popular) modern humor like southpark (which starts to take itself more & more seriously like naturist novelists ended up doing). For saying this i will be called OLD . But i was brought up only by what i was born with (a fully functioning entity) and it’s empiric research into this momentary reality. The -old and young- people thus talk about is an illusion of what is hip or “whatever”.
But having said this; the masses (= whoever poses as victor’s (mirage-)morality) will keep growing larger just as the true individuals will keep getting stronger. In short i believe this compulsion of bad-news-love (which will soon turn to fake-good news (obama,….)) will overtake all of nature’s outward (neutral) appearance but it’s within (which all honest beings, entities share) will create for itself new outward natures, like a more extra(beyond)-opinionated form of communication. Be OLD it doesn’t include bitterness it is what they invented the word for, mature in thinking (old-soul), so your young (used to mean adventurous) -self can freely enjoy ever higher & more detatched (forgot how to spell) levels. Always remember “insanity” is a western neuroticism which leads to … neuroticism, just like all other words stripped down to singular (“feminine”) (soon to be non-)meanings designed by and for those who despise MMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNDDDDDDD.
(Call me an extremist-optimist and excuse me if i carry on
wifout b_hovering 2 tank u)
An apt note to end this very nietzschean (whom i know was never crazy & sounded alot like that last part, or any healthy modern person) divertissement on.
P.S.: Art is useless but without our inclination to beautify , fine-tune ,do what our guts tell us caves would still be a livingroom in our m(ayan h)inds