{"id":56611,"date":"2021-12-15T17:59:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T21:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=56611"},"modified":"2021-12-27T11:18:06","modified_gmt":"2021-12-27T15:18:06","slug":"turn-the-negative-into-positive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/turn-the-negative-into-positive\/","title":{"rendered":"Turn the Negative Into Positive\u2014It’s Within Your Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you get through negative pits in life? Do you try to distract yourself from the negativity or do you look for ways to turn the negative into positive? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people deal with difficult times by trying to lessen the impact of negative emotions. But hard moments in life have the potential to become positive and beautiful experiences that you’ll look back on fondly. In their book The Power of Moments<\/em>, Chip and Dan Heath suggest two ways of turning negative pits into positive peaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is how to turn the negative into positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Dealing With Negative Pits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Negative pits are the emotional lows of an experience\u2014without any intervention, these are the moments someone will remember about an experience when they reflect on it. The Heaths observe that most people react to a negative pit by trying to find a way to fix it and lessen the negative emotions of it. For example, clients hate being on hold, so many companies will play music or trivia to fill the wait time. By fixing the negative pit of being on hold with an entertaining distraction, these companies help ensure that the long wait time isn\u2019t what the client recalls most vividly about her experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Heaths explain that hard moments can actually become positive defining moments<\/a> when you go beyond simply repairing them\u2014and instead, find a way to turn the negative into positive. There are two ways you might do this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Create an <\/strong>unexpected<\/em><\/strong> positive experience in response to the pit. <\/strong>Take the pet supply company Chewy as an example: If you inform them that your pet has passed away, they cancel your food delivery subscription immediately. This is the response you expect of them. However, they then go above and beyond expectation to fill in your negative pit with something positive\u2014they send you flowers and a handwritten sympathy card signed by the Chewy team. In this way, they create a positive defining moment that will stand out in your memory when you recall your experience with their brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Put together a plan of action in response to the negative pit. <\/strong>The Heaths attest that the most memorable\u2014but most uncommon\u2014way to fix a negative pit is to make a perceptible<\/em> effort to fix it. In many cases, acknowledging a problem, coming up with a plan, and demonstrating a willingness to make things right can make people think of the experience as overall positive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n