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A Positive Focus Is More Productive Than a Negative Fixation for Spiritual Growth · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  We go wherever we focus our attention.
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  If we focus on difficulties, we wallow in those difficulties.
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  If we focus our attention on growth and development, then we
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  draw to ourselves those opportunities that support that
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  growth. There are examples.
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  Certain traditions make the rooting out of what they
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  consider to be sins of the flesh through extremes of discipline
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  or even self punishment through use of whips, hair shirts and
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  the Solis. We can observe the results in
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  history as some of these same groups turned their attention on
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  others and undertook radical means of action to dominate and
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  control others. Including as an example, things
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  like the Holy Inquisition where anyone not adhering to the
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  specific faith was haunted down, tortured, and in many cases
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  burned to death. Clearly the individuals carrying
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  out these actions were so fixated on the negative side of
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  finding and rooting out sin that they had little time or mind to
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  try to make life better through positive growth and efforts.
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  While this represents only a small fraction of the religious
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  or spiritual tradition or practice, it highlights for us
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  the difference between a fixation on the negative versus
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  a focus on the positive. Blaming oneself and by extension
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  others, does not move the evolutionary effort forward as
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  much as simply turning the attention to the truth and
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  result we aspire for. There is of course a place for
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  self examination and an effort to remove weaknesses or focuses
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  that hold one back from achieving the evolutionary step
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  forward. This should not, however, become
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  an obsession in lieu of the turning of attention upwards
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  towards the light, harmony, truth and love that emanates
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  from that higher consciousness. In many cases, as we see in a
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  normal growth process of the external being, the shift of
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  focus automatically results in past habits or activities
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  falling away. Naturally, when we grow out of
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  childhood, we leave our childish pursuits behind for the most
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  part. A disciple asks, is blaming
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  oneself a good method of progressing?
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  The mother replies quote No, not necessarily.
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  It may be useful. It is indeed useful from time to
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  time in order to get out of the illusion of one's own
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  perfection. But one wastes much energy and
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  self criticism. It is much better to use the
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  same energy in making progress, a concrete progress, something
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  more useful. For example, if you have
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  thoughts which are unpleasant, ugly, vulgar and disturbing, and
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  you say, ah, ah, how intolerable I am, I still have such
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  thoughts, what a nuisance it is. It would be much better use this
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  very energy simply to do this gesture and drive away the
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  thoughts. And this is only the first step.
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  The second is to try to have other thoughts, to take interest
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  in something else, either read or reflect, but in any case try
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  to fill your mind with something more interesting.
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  To use your energy in constructing rather than in
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  destroying. It is of course necessary from
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  time to time. To recognize one's faults, it is
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  altogether indispensable, but to dwell too much upon them is not
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  necessary. What is necessary is to use all
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  one's energy in order to build up the qualities one wants to
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  have and do what one wants to do.
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  This is much more important and quote reference Srioro Bindu and
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  the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 2.
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  Looking at Oneself and Others, pages 40 to 41.