Positive basic values are essential for positive living.
We all have positive basic values which were established in the home, in the school and in the church. This value system was further formed by the value system of the community in which we grew up.
Positive basic values consist of beliefs in what is good and what is bad, for example:
’This boy is well-behaved. That is good’. ‘That boy is naughty. That is bad’.
’This man is friendly. That is good’. ‘That man is sulky. That is bad’.
We consciously and subconsciously judge everything in terms of our positive basic values. We therefore judge everything as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. When it is ‘good’ we say it is ‘positive’. When it is ‘bad’ we say it is ’negative’;
We can also say that we ‘posit’ (assume as a fact), we take a ‘position’ (principle), we ‘postulate’ (take for granted). Hence the word ‘positive’. If something does not agree with our values it is negative (negated, negation, denied, refused, contradiction).
Between ‘good’ and ‘bad’, however, there is a whole range from ‘very, very good’ to ‘very, very bad.’ Our judgment of something is a perception which lies somewhere on that range. The problem is that our perception is negatively influenced by continuous negative news and events in the media, by negative episodes in our lives, by sickness and even by the weather. This tends to make us negative in our thinking and place our perceptions more towards the negative side of the range.
When we think negatively we see only the dark side, the bad things, the problems, the threats. When we think positively we see the bright side, the good things, the solutions, the opportunities.
The good thing to know is that we have a choice in life. We do not have to be negative in our outlook in life. We can decide to be positive. We can change our thinking from negative to positive. We can look for the good in everything. We can act positively. We can change a negative situation into a positive situation. It is all a matter of Will.
A positive attitude causes positive things to happen!
For a list of positive words relating to basic values go to
For a list of positive words relating to spiritual values go to