Positive thinking?

One of the things that has attracted a large number of followers in the last few years is the large list of authors, speakers and books on positive thinking. Secrets was one of the best sellers which quite abashedly encouraged us to dream big and become big. I came across an article in a leading daily recently which talked about the decline in "positive thinking movement". While I am still trying to form an opinion on this topic I would like to mention another book that completely negates the concept of "The self made individual". The book is another bestseller by Malcolm Gladwell by the name of Outliers.

Though Gladwell does not explicitly condemn the positive thinking concept, the book comes across a very well drafted argument against an individuals capability to define his or her destiny. Gladwell's argument in the book is that circumstances beyond our control make or break our life and this is true of the most successful individuals including the likes of Bill Gates and Beetles. So as per Gladwell, anyone who claims to be self made is taking more credit for his own success than he deserves. I am sure this is not going to be music to the ears of the boisterous class of celebrities that live in our midst.

Like I said I am till trying to form an opinion on this topic but I have some interesting takeaways from the book. For one, I have come across a number of people who aren't super successful and have attributed the lack of it to the logic in Gladwell's book. This in itself is not such a bad thing since it may just end up reducing the stress that a large number of people create on themselves searching for the illusive stardom. The book also offers some interesting trivia. For e.g to be world class you need to put 10,000 hrs in your area of interest/profession. Apparently Bill Gates and Beetles did the same. One thing is for sure, if this book catches on a large number of Indian parents may start clocking the time their kids spend on maths or cricket to ensure they do 10,000 hrs.

Coming back to positive thinking, I am not sure if there is any empirical evidence to prove that positive thinkers are more successful, it definitely makes one happier. The idea that I can think myself to success at least removes the pain of the daily grind, the obnoxious boss, and the thankless job that a large number of us live through.