I'd like to share with you one of my favourite "paradigm shift" games. It starts with the above question. I repeat..
HOW MANY SIDES DOES A COIN HAVE?
If you are like most people I've played this game with, you'd say, "Two". Some would say the same with emphasis, "Two, of course!". Some might even think, what a dumb question, and please be assured, I wouldn't be bothered whatever it is you might be thinking ;)
If "two" is your answer, then, I'd like to invite you to pick up a coin, feel it, and examine it closely.
Again, if you are like most people I've played this game with, you'd have that "Aha" look, and then, you'd say, probably tentatively, "Three?"
Now, think about this. Where did the third side suddenly spring out from when all of our life, we've been taught and conditioned to think that the coin has only two sides? It's that little-noticed, often-overlooked edge of the coin that goes around the coin, right?
That tells us a lot about life.
Most people go through life with the conventional wisdom, thinking "there are two sides to the coin". When confronted with a negative situation, quite a number of us would have the presence of mind to pause, and think, "Hey there's always a positive side to every negative situation." That'd be what is normally referred to as a case of Thinking Positive.
Lots of books and chapters in books have been written about thinking positive. Ever wndered why? Would you agree that's because too many people tend to look too much at only one side of the coin - the negative side?
How far away is the positive side of things? It's only on the other side - a flip of the coin away, isn't it? So easy to do (yet so easy not to do).
Now, if we were to train ourselves to think positive, where and how far could we go with Positive Thinking? By and large, it'd help us smile our way through adversities, and even be able to see the lighter side of a bad situation. Or, we'd learn to philosophically accept things that we think or tell ourselves we cannot change. (Desiderata?)
This is where I'd like to introduce the 3rd side of the coin.
Side 1 - Negative
Side 2 - Positive
Side 3 - ??????
What would you call the 3rd side?
I'd call it, Creative. Yes, the Creative "Make Things Happen" Side, my favourite side of the coin of life.
To think positive is to simply try to look at things from the other side, and attempt to be less unhappy about an unhappy situation. To think creative is to look for a way or for ways to make a difference to the situation, and turn it arund to advantage.
Being Creative involves a lot more work than just passively thinking positive. Being Creative is Being Proactive.
Let's go back to the coin. In a way, being positive is no different from being negative. Doing either leaves us lying flat on the other side! Nothing else happens.
Try standing the coin on the 3rd side. Unless you lock the coin into a dent or a groove, the coin wouldn't stand still. It would be dynamic, tending to be in motion, moving forward (or backward), rolling away from its starting position. Yes?
Now think further. With the 3rd side, we can do some fun things. We can make the coin dance! Give it a firm twist at the top (and I'm sure you've done this before) and the coin will spin around like a ballerina. It'd then make some whirring noise while in motion, and as it slows down, it will make even more noise, until it comes to a complete stop. What can you get from this picture?
I invite you to stretch your mind's eyes. Feel for, and look out for, the 3rd side of the coin of life. That's the side where we get dynamic, get into motion. That's the side where we get the chance to dance ... the Dance of Life.
Let's go beyond just Thinking Positive; let's Think Creative. Let's Make Things Happen!
If you want to be happy, and make your life better, don't just think positive. Go do something about it, get dynamic, and stay in motion.
A creative thought by Lim Eng Hai :)
