How a ‘Maybe’ Mindset Will Make You More Positive

Because nothing lasts forever.

Gustavo Razzetti
Personal Growth
Published in
6 min readFeb 25, 2018

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A monk purposefully destroying a Mandala that took weeks to be built.

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” — Charles R. Swindoll

Once upon a time, there was an old hard working farmer. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck.” — they said sympathetically.

“Maybe.” — The farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How lucky you are.” — the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe.” — Replied the old man.

The following day, his son broke his leg trying to ride one of the untamed horses. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy.

“Maybe.” — Answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. Once again, the neighbors told the farmer how lucky he was.

“Maybe.” — Said the old man.

This Zen Buddhist fable is powerful to understand the true nature of life: everything is impermanent. When you see reality through a “right or wrong” mindset, you get stuck in a moment. Being judgmental increases your suffering.

Adopting a ‘maybe’ mindset will help you understand that nothing — both happiness and sad ness— lasts forever. And increase your positivity.

The Paradox of Labeling

“Be curious, not judgmental.” — Walt Whitman

Life is neither good nor bad. When you label events, you turn them into either good or bad. When we judge what is happening to us, we become at war with reality.

When things didn’t go as expected, we feel disappointed. And fight back. But things won’t change because you can’t accept them. Fighting reality will only turn you into a casualty.

Søren Kierkegaard said: “Once you label me, you negate me.”

When you categorize incidents as either ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ you stop seeing the whole picture. Your life is not either…

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Gustavo Razzetti
Personal Growth

For latest stories, subscribe: https://gustavorazzetti.substack.com I help teams have courageous conversations. Author of Remote, Not Distant