Presence of Positivity

KARNA SHAKYA

Karna Shakya is a tourism entrepreneur, environmental activist, and believer of positive thinking. He wrote the book Soch about positive thinking at a time when the country was reeling under extreme conflict. It is the character of Karna Shakya to be driven by positive thinking and optimism even in extremely adverse conditions. He believes there is hoe in every problem, but that hope is found only after searching for it.

Presence of Positivity

I hold a belief that everything and everyone in this world has some positive aspects. No one is born a demon. I try to see good qualities among children and friends. I even try to see those qualities in a foe.

 I try to see things from others’ perspectives as well. I find faults within me when I look at my image from other people’s perspectives. I realize my errors and try to correct them, which helps me to start afresh. There are problems when we work, but life can be made meaningful by assessing and managing them.

A positive approach is crucial to making progress in life. Sometimes it is difficult to be optimistic in adverse situations. This has happened to me several times. I was preparing with my son to set up a new hotel. At the time, the country was in armed conflict and sometimes I thought it was not the right time to open up a hotel. But I recalled my past when I had a single hotel and the rooms rented for just two dollars. This recollection makes me confess, “Of course I have earned more today than in the past!” I felt relived by the thought and got new courage to work. My history has always given me strength to move ahead with more positive thoughts. I still have one room for two dollars a night to remind myself of how and where I started.

I always want to be positive. If I did not have hope, then I would not have been happy. My wife and a daughter died of cancer. My positive attitude to life helped me fight my own cancer. I made a proposal to build a cancer hospital in my town, collecting one penny a day. And indeed when all the pennies were put together, we had enough funds to build Bhaktapur and Bharatpur hospitals. Had I not been hopeful, then I would have died of my prostrate cancer. But I had a strong hope to live and great will power. I conquered my cancer by virtue of these qualities in me.

Optimism generates positive thinking. Positive thinking gives a sense of responsibility and ultimately helps to resolve problems. Responsibility always encourages constructive work, without greed, like a spontaneous overflow of a poet’s emotion or an artist’s expression on canvas.

           I wish for nobody to live a painful life. But I don’t want them to lose hope when challenges come by. Look out for new avenues and transform the pain into power. I am also a common man like others, and I don’t consider myself extremely ideal and all moral. Positive thing are often tangled up with problems. In such situations, I try to pick out the positive things. I can only do well if I can pick out the positive things. This is my life, my belief.