Everyone tells you to be positive, have positive thoughts, and only focus on the good things, but you can’t forget the negative. In fact, in some professions, like submariner, Navy SEAL, or astronaut only focusing on the positive can get you killed.

Success in these professions is not just about carrying out mission objectives, but about coming home alive, when on any given day, the very act of going to work can get you killed.

in “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” Col. Chris Hadfield explains how astronauts train to think about and practice every conceivable thing that can go wrong from the time they strap in for take-off until they are safely back on earth.

He describes a relentless focus on failure, of what could break, separate, explode, impact, ignite, stick, unstick, clog, poison, sicken etc.

Every past incident, accident, and disaster is studied so that it can be prevented. Every new technology is mastered and debated for what could go wrong.

The point is that success is not all about vision boards showing you successfully ensconced in desirable situations, but also about radar screens showing what’s heading your way that you need to avoid.

You would think focussing on the negative would be a downer, but Col Hadfield explains that it actually has a counter effect.

He said focusing on and preparing for every possible breakdown, made him calm, and optimistic.

When those gigantic blast-off engines went off, he found himself smiling, and he realised it was because he was so well-prepared. If something did go wrong, he knew he and his fellow astronauts would know what to do, and they would prevail.

As you get ready for 2023, think about what could go wrong so that you can prepare to evade, or mitigate their effect.

Anticipating and preparing for them will make you more confident of success.

In this way, thinking of the negative can lead to achieving the positive.