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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Getting to Neutral summary
Trevor Moawad
How to Conquer Negativity and Thrive in a Chaotic World
16 mins
Table of Contents
Getting to Neutral
Summary of 6 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 6
Why neutral thinking beats both negativity and positivity
In September of 2019, the author Trevor Moawad woke up in a great mood. He was looking forward to what was shaping up to be an exciting fall season in his career as a mental conditioning coach. Having put the difficulties of a recent divorce behind him, he was ready to throw himself into work again.
But when he passed his mirror, he was startled to see that his eyes suddenly looked yellow. Too busy to dwell, he popped on a pair of sunglasses and headed out into his day. Shortly afterwards, though, he was afflicted by severe itching.
Weeks later, he found out why: He had cholangiocarcinoma, a type of bile duct cancer. The C-word. And to make things even worse, the world was just starting to face its own C-word: COVID-19.
As the COVID pandemic came into being, the dangers of too much negative thinking became clear. People panicked about not wiping down groceries properly. They tended to worry the worst would happen to loved ones. They spent their time seeking out gloomy statistics and predictions to brood about, focusing only on the stories about deaths and overlooking news about vaccine development or international cooperation.
Now, this level of negative thinking is unproductive, depressing and even harmful when it leads to pessimism and hopelessness – and it’s something most people are aware of at some level.
But did you know that positive thinking can also cause harm? Simply being optimistic without any basis can lead to becoming more negative and depressed when desired outcomes don’t come to pass.
So what’s the ideal alternative? The answer is neutral thinking. Rather than careening between doomsday thinking or toxic positivity, neutral thinking is a fact-focused way of thinking in a judgment-free zone. When you think neutrally, you don’t ignore the past, but you understand that the future does not have to mimic the past.
Neutral thinking doesn’t mean you should become devoid of passion or feeling. Instead, it requires stepping back from emotion at the time of decision-making, using facts and analysis of past experiences to make a decision about moving forward and then moving into that decision with enthusiasm and passion.
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What is Getting to Neutral about?
Getting to Neutral (2022) is a step-by-step guide to conquering negativity and embracing the state of neutrality in a stressful world. By delving into deeply personal experiences as well as insights from leading athletes and coaches from around the world, it shows how anyone can find calm and clarity in their everyday life.
Who should read Getting to Neutral?
- Anyone who struggles with stress and confusion
- High performers who want to conquer blocking thoughts
- Lovers of an inspiring story
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