Sometimes, I can nag or rationalize myself out of negativity. Oftentimes, I can’t.
I find it more effective to acknowledge my negativity’s validity (not its metaphysical/objective truth, because who knows what’s objectively true? We still don’t know if this is a simulation) and its right to exist. Intellectually, that may seem like I’m agreeing with it, but emotionally, its acknowledgment and inclusion lessens its grip, because I’m not strengthening it through denial or rejection (which is what happens when I reject and/or deny). I believe this is different from the hyper-exaggerated “owning” of negativity, or the needy exploration of it to prove to an externality that I’ve confronted and made my peace with it. It took me a while to develop the sensitivity that allowed me to perceive the nuance, but the vibe is much more like a heated argument occurring within me, where both sides disengage by civilly agreeing to disagree, then going their separate ways without any insecurity-born desire to dominate the other, and/or score a last-word parting shot.
Kent Wayne 
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