The Power of Negative Thinking

By Marty Nemko

Gurus say that the key to success is positive thinking. I'm not so sure. As Mike Montgomery, coach of the highly-ranked Stanford basketball team, who's known for making the most of his team's talent, said, "If you ever stop worrying, it's time to retire." I worry over every word in this column and believe that if I didn't, my work would not be publishable. Many successful people I know insist that being a worrywart helps. Whether it's trying to anticipate everything that might go wrong, or scrupulously assessing their work's quality, it's a bit of worry, not "think positive" that usually brings satisfaction.