The Power of Negative Thinking: An Unconventional Approach to Achieving Positive Results

by Bob Knight, Bob Hammel (Contributor)

Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking , a classic bestseller, has inspired an optimistic perspective for millions of Americans. Now, in an inspirational and entertaining rebuttal, the legendary basketball coach Bob Knight explains why “negative thinking” will actually produce more positive results, in sports and in daily life. Coach Knight, the second-winningest coach in NCAA history with 902 victories, explains that victory is often attained by the team that makes the fewest mistakes. His coaching philosophy was to instill discipline by “preparing to win” rather than hoping to win. That meant understanding the downside and drilling his teams to prevent the things that could go wrong. And when his teams did win, he made sure they didn’t dwell on their success, but rather looked immediately to the challenges of the next game. He applies this lesson to business strategy as well. Coach Knight has long been inspired by his grandmother’s words, "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” As the first person to teach Knight about the power of negative thinking, this book is dedicated to her pragmatic spirit.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Leadership, Basketball, Psychology

223 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2013

About the author

Bob Knight compiled one of the greatest records ever in college basketball: 5 National Coach of the Year awards, 3 NCAA championships, 11 Big Ten championships, an Olympics championship, and 902 victories overall, along with achieving a near-perfect graduation rate for his players. Knight was also a featured commentator for ESPN’s college basketball coverage, on camera at least once a week. His first book, Knight: My Story, spent five weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Bob Hammel is the coauthor of both books.

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The positive thinker tends to enjoy the win, to congratulate himself and his staff and his players and generally revel in the fact that he and his team won! A negative thinker has already forgotten that one and gone to work on the next game." pg 12

I am a believer in positive thinking. Anyone can manifest their own destiny by means of their thoughts, either positive or negative. Having said that, Coach Knight has taken the concept of stoicism and put his version into a book. He described how indiscriminate optimism can be dangerous and reckless; the illusion of positive thinking by not acknowledging the negative. He explained life, like basketball, is not perfect and is not played perfect. There were a lot of concepts that hold merit: eliminating mistakes through repetition, understanding the will to win is not enough, perseverance, expecting losing and not falling victim to the "It Can't Happen To Me" mentality, and recovering from loss to eliminate future loss. There is a lot of truth in looking in the mirror every day and being honest with one's self.

As I've gotten older I see negative thinking as reality thinking. I agree with Coach Knight that losing and winning exist; and in life gains and loss exist. Coach Knight took a philosophy and successfully applied it to his coaching staff and his players in his years coaching. Bob Knight has numerous awards and accolades throughout his career and has numerous inductee events into various Coaching Hall of Fames. His credentials validate to a degree his coaching philosophy.

I think these principles can be applied to anyone: competitive sports, professional work, school work, and lay a good foundation for success. This could even be good for parenting and keeping things in perspective with children and their self-esteem in today's world. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in a different approach to having success in life. Thanks!

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book in the Kindle Owners Lending Library and read it without knowing anything about Bob Knight or much about college basketball at all. Without the gloss of the author's fame or much interest in the basketball theme, I felt the book was poorly written and organized. The book started decently, arguing that optimism and belief without concrete planning and hard work are not enough for success. However, it then devolves into accounts of Bob Knight's coaching successes, with the barest attempts to reconcile them to the theme by pointing out strategies that in some way involve a "no" or "not," often not at all related to "Negative Thinking" as it was first laid out. A few sections were pure denouncements (often without support) of criticisms Knight received during his career. The final chapter is just a list of cliches and sayings Knight likes or doesn't and his sometimes poor attempts at wit, which were at times contradictory and poorly thought out. In all, this book should remain within the purlieu of the college basketball enthusiast and is not really worth reading for those solely interested in management or leadership advice, as the book attempts to market.

[Mark Skousen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Power of Negative Thinking," by Bob Knight (New Harvest, 2013, 223)

I have on my bookshelf a series of books with opposite titles: The Alpha Strategy, and the Omega Strategy; Asia Rising, and Asia Falling; Free to Choose, and Free to Lose; How to Win Friends and Influence People, and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.....Visitors love the collection.

Now I can add the perfect counterpoint to Norman Vincent Peale's classic "The Power of Positive Thinking." In "The Power of Negative Thinking," the author is no longer "Bobby" Knight, but I wonder if he has grown up and learned from his mistakes (the theme of his book). I bought the book hoping that he would apologize in print for his out-of-control tirades, violent temper and ugly expletives that destroyed his marriage and his career as a successful coach. I had to read the entire book to find out, since it has no index (one of my pet peaves). And no, he never brings up any negative stories about himself, like the throwing of a chair at officials in 1985 or the choking of a player that got him fired from Indiana.

I like a lot of what Knight says about "hollow platitudes" by the eternal optimists, such as "you can do anything you want to do in life" and athletes who are always praising God when they score a basket. There's too much Pollyanna praise heaped on kids these days, and not enough discipline. Knight emphasized eliminated mistakes and bad habits as the key to success in life. He himself is his own best and worst enemy of this principle.

"Negative Thinking" will never be a classic like Peale's book. Negative books can be bestsellers, but seldom classics. Jim Collins' book "Good to Great" is a classic business book, and is still #51 on Amazon.com after 12 years.....while Collin's negative book "How the Mighty Fall" is #9,200, even though it came out more recently (2009).

Balance in life is the key, as Aristotle taught us. Nobody likes a naive Pollyanna, but neither do we like to be around people who are constantly complaining and finding fault. I don't think I could live under the same roof as Bobby Knight. Despite his incredible success record as a basketball coach (winning over 900 games and 3 NCAA championships), he's too intense and critical for my tastes. But maybe I'm too negative.....

[مي مجدي · Rating 1 out of 5]

يحاول هذا الكتاب تقديم فكرة جديدة مضادة للفكرة السائدة التي تؤكد أهمية التفكير الإيجابي، من خلال تجربة مدرب كرة السلة بوب نايت وطريقته في تحقيق الانجازات مع فريقه الرياضي بهذا المنطق.

لكن للأسف الكاتب لم يستطع أن يشرح فكرته بوضوح، أو يقدم أشياء واضحة يمكن الاعتماد عليها لمعرفة أو تطبيق التفكير السلبي، ولا حتي يقنع القاريء بوجهة نظره، كما أن الكتاب عبارة عن سيرة ذاتية للمدرب ومبارايته، بكثير من التفاصيل المملة والفنية عن لعبة كرة السلة والتي لا تهم العامة.
نجمة واحدة بسبب بعض الصفحات المفيدة

لا أرشحه، لا تهدر أموالك في شرائه.

[D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book in two hours -- I think it's an interesting concept, honestly, and I'd love to read more about the science/psychology of negative thinking vs. positive thinking. So, I think that can be a fun conversation at book club! But liking the book as a whole is a stretch -- I'm not interested in Bob Knight's basketball histories, so whenever he deviated into memory lane, he lost me.

Maybe someone else can do this concept better? Because I'd like to explore it.

[Wei · Rating 1 out of 5]

He is attacking wishful thinking not positive thinking. Horrible book. Being critical and being cynical are different. Hate this book.

[Anissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

"طُرق التّفكير السّلبي لتحصيل نتائج إيجابية مُبهرة"

العبارة التي شدتني من أجل اقتناء الكتاب فأن يكون العُنوان عكس التيّار فهو لأمر يستحق الوقوف،وقلت مع نفسي ربّما يُوفّق الكاتب في إقناعي بطريقة تفكير مُختلفة ذات نتائج مُبهرة كما يقول لكن للأسف خاب أملي.

الكاتب يُحاول أن يقنعنا بقوة التفكير السّلبي كفكرة مضادّة لما هو سائد عن قوة التّفكير الإيجابي من خلال تجربته كمدرب كرة سلّة بحيث يقول أن التّفكير السّلبي هو ما ساعده في أن يحقّق بطولات كثيرة خلال مسيرته رفقة فريقه ليتحول الكتاب من فكرة إلى سيرة ذاتية للكاتب عن مبارياته.
كثير من التّفاصيل والقصص المملّة فقط في محاولة منه لتأكيد قوة التّفكير السّلبي لكنّه في نظري لم يُفلح بل فقط شتّت انتباهي لا أكثر.

هناك بعض المقولات اتفقت معه فيها كونها بالفعل تؤدي الى نتائج ايجابية لكن أبداً لا يعني أن نتخذ السّلبية منهج حياة فلا يُعقل أن أقوم بإحباط النّاس وتذكيرهم بما هو سلبي فقط كي لا يُخدعوا بالأمل وكثرة التّفاؤل.

ومن جهة أخرى أعتقد أن الخلفية الدّينية لها دور فنحن كمسلمين الأمل والإيجابية تنبع من إيماننا باللّٰه فأنا مثلا عندما أكون مُقبلة على خطوة جديدة يكون أملي في اللّٰه بأنني ساُوفّق وفعلاً أُوفّق ولا أنكر أنّني أخفقت في الكثير من المرّات لكن ذلك أبداً لم يكن ذريعة لي كي أتخذ السلبية منهجاً لي قبل الإقدام على أي خطوة، طبعاً في كل خطواتنا نفكر في كل الاحتمالات ربّما نُخفق وربّما ننجح كي لا ننصدم لكن ذلك لا يُنفي دور الإيجابية بالنّسبة لي بالتالي الكاتب في نظري لم يُقنعني بتاااااتاً.

لا أنصح به وشكراً

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, let's get it out of the way. I love Coach Bob Knight and his views on most things. Yes, I know he has made some mistakes in his personal life, but as far as knowing basketball...he's the best in the business. I wasn't shocked by the title of the book like some were. He has always pushed that you need to quit hoping things will change and start working at that change. Negative thinking is everything through and avoid the mistakes that could bring you and your team down. You be aware of your limitations and what you can do instead. Not everyone can do all things all the time however they can work hard and learn. He is about the will to prepare to win. Preparation is what can make or break not only a game but a work project. I would highly recommend the basketball junkie and gym rats to read this book. However, if you just in business and looking for some new outlooks on changing your perspective this book may be for you too.

[Sumit Singla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even for a sports fan who doesn't follow much basketball, Bob Knight is hardly an unknown figure. Hence, I picked this book with a lot of expectation, hoping to learn from a real achiever what the secret of achieving success is. And I do have to say that the first few chapters are deeply interesting.

Just when I thought that the book was getting better, it decided to take a turn for the worse. Many of the things Bob says make perfect sense. Just a motivational speech isn't going to make a team win against a 'better' team. The coach and the players need to show something more than mere words. 'Wanting' to win doesn't help because both teams in a game 'want' to win, right? Fully agree!

But, there's too much of 'I did this' and 'I did that' in this book. After the first 30-40 pages, the book takes on a distinctly patronizing tone and it sounds like Bob is doing nothing but gloating about himself. Also, I agree that the team that makes the fewest mistakes is more likely to win.

However, the biggest flaw in this book (in my humble opinion) is that it equates positive thinking with wishful thinking. For example, considering my current levels of fitness, me thinking of beating Usain Bolt's 100m record is wishful to the extreme. However, me having a plan to run a half marathon in 6 months is positive, without being impossibly ambitious.

Nevertheless, I must concede that Bob Knight knows much more than I do about winning, and how to win. So, despite all the chaff, there is still value to be gained by reading this. And the only reason I would call it disappointing is because my expectations were different.

[Sean Halpin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bob Knight is wrong. Okay he is not completely wrong but he does use vocabulary gymnastics in order to extend his hyperbolic title into a full length book. Knight's basic premise is that we must realistically take into account our weaknesses in order to achieve positive results. He weaves this premise into his narrative as if it were a unique idea--which it is not. Even authors touting positive thinking warn against pollyannaish assessments of our capabilities (ex; Ben Shahar).

This book is entertaining, especially in early chapters, but in later chapters it dissolves into a defense for his basketball coaching career. At one point for example he explains that he never incited referees. Other times he simply stretches too far to make his title work--like when he insists that all of the ten commandments could be converted to negative statements and worked just fine (they could be stated positively too, Bob)!

Read this book if you are looking for any easy read littered with entertaining quotes.

[Russell D Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about about basketball but also Coach Knight’s life philosophies. Mostly for hoops fans, but also would have some appeal to others.

[Rory Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a great book if you are looking for a relatively casual read and if you enjoy (lots) of college sports references and descriptions. I didn’t enjoy the book because I was looking for something a little more formal and focused upon the mis-thinking that is indeed involved in being overly optimistic.

Optimism and pessimism are both biases. They both distort thinking in measurable ways. The modern self help industry churns out books of positivity, as they address issues of under-confidence which many of those picking up self-help books are looking to deal with. Whatever wisdom those books contain, they can also end up being misleading by overpressing an optimistic approach.

This means that there is a niche for a good book to argue the risks of over-optimism and to present the case for how that bias can be mitigated with (some) negativity or pessimism. For example, there is a well known ‘Sunk Cost’ bias, where people keep ploughing on in a situation because they do not want prior efforts to be in vain. This kind of scenario can be misconstrued by the optimistic as perseverance, and ‘sticking with’ the mission, rather than ‘giving up.’ But the very existence of the bias shows that sometimes the rational thing to do is to ‘give up.’

I was hoping that the book would cover optimism biases like ‘sunk cost bias’, and the question of how to find the right degree of negativity to balance over-optimism, without falling into the opposite vice. But it didn’t.

It made the point well that you cannot plan to avoid disaster if you do not envision the kinds of disasters that might happen. Polyanna might be good at dealing with catastrophes that have occurred, but the author was right to also point out that a bit more pessimism earlier might have enabled people to better forestall and avoid catastrophes.

In making these kinds of points the book includes lots of anecdotes, and poems which are relevant to avoiding over-optimism, but it read as the informal thoughts of a professional at the end of his career handing on his wisdom to a keen audience. There is a place for that kind of book, as it is an easy read and for readers interested in the author’s sports successes the book will have additional significance. But it may not feel like a very satisfying read if readers are looking for a more thoughtful analysis and presentation of the issues around avoiding positivity biases.

[Doug Xiang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an antidote book especially for me, I was blind self-confidence person previously and influenced deeply by the theory of positive thinking, once things go right, I will self-inflated, and once things go wrong, I will choose to ignore them and convince myself, it is not true, I will make them better without doing anything. This book told me that hoping for success is not enough I need to prepare for all the possible consequences that may happen to make things risky. Paying attention to the downside is a difficult but essential quality for achieving long-term success in any occupation or family situation. I do agree with that by reviewing all the stuff that happened in my life. To prepare for the worst the best will come. Courage is not equal to stupid, I really need to learn to prevent things happen not trying to save them after bad consequences happen.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because I thought title intriguing and wanted to see what coach knight had to say. It is an easy read full of coach's pithy comments and sayings. Not a particularly well written, it reads more like a a bunch of talks given at a coaching clinic. In spite of the title the book has some practical advice and common sense which is positive. And that is the coach's point: what may appear to be negative can actually have positive affects. I probably would not have read this except for someone giving it to me.

[Erlend Landrö · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lack of scientific backup. A ton of cherrypicking. Little coherency. Some decent stories.

Not practically useful. Might be interesting for basketball fans. 1/5

[John Biddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bob Knight's book The Power of Negative Thinking was first rate. Full of smart thinking about how focus on fundamentals and shoring up weaknesses, identifying past mistakes and correcting them lead to victories. Wise and incisive.

Here's one thing he mentioned more than once that rings true for me and is very different than what virtually everyone does. In a close game, at the very end when one score can win it for you, most everyone will call a time out and the coach will give the team the advice they need to win. Bob believes that your team should have already had drilled into them what the right thing to do is and doing it right now, without pause or hesitation, gives you the best chance of succeeding. Do the work up front until you trust that your team will do the right thing, then trust them to do that very thing. I love that.

If you coach or play or even watch, this book is full of insights you'll be glad you gave Bob the time to share with you.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook and generally enjoyed it. The core concept of the book is indeed a helpful one and is a corrective to overconfidence and optimism bias which can lead to poor decision and inadequate preparation.

As others have noted after the first few chapters the book becomes increasingly filled with anecdotes from his coaching career. I did find some of the stories and tactics fairly interesting though I do not watch basketball. Whilst stories are a great way to teach I do have to say that a number of the stories didn't seem to have a punch or clear point.

I'm not familiar with Knight's career or his foibles, but clearly he knew how to win and he did that by first aiming to eliminate mistakes and trying not to lose.

One of the big take-aways I got from this book is that far too often the biggest enemy to success is ourselves, and a few "negative thinking" questions can go a long way. Such as "what could go wrong?" Or "what weaknesses/mistakes can we eliminate?"

[Grant Knoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book. It was not something I would normally read, but it was loaned to me, and I'm waiting for a hold at the library. Plus, I find Coach Knight a fascinating guy, and it's March.

Throughout the book, there was some very good advice, some stuff that is common sense but is good to be reminded of, and some stuff that seemed like it was just there to fill out the pages.

The message of the book is that one should not be overly optimistic but should be cautious and think of any potential obstacles before making decisions. One thing that I would have liked would have been some data and statistics to back up Knight's points rather than just a bunch of stories that were somewhat related to those points. Although being a huge college basketball fan, I did greatly enjoy these anecdotes.

[Poo Poo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I came away from this book with less respect for Bob Knight. I think he did have a lot of people's best interest's at heart, but is just to arrogant to get out of his own way. Some of the things mentioned in the book are just him rubbing his own ego. Saying he created cliche's we all know he did not.

Overall, if Indiana's basketball history interest's you, this could be a great read. For me, it was becoming painful to get through. There is some good information, very little applicable, but still some good tid bits. He does touch on the olympic teams a little bit, but it's basically all about his coahcing history at Indiana.

And no, he doesn't touch on any of the sensitive subjects about how he got canned for being a prick who wouldn't\couldn't change with the times.

[Dan 丹 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just OK, too much about the author and his achievements, and too little about what's promised in the book's title, and what I really liked was concentrated at the beginning of the book, and the end of it, probably just a few pages' worth, the rest was just either irrelevant or boring.

I'd probably see it differently if I was actually into sports, but I'm not. And maybe therefore most of it seemed either irrelevant or quite obvious.

[Batu Kaan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I love memoirs, journalism and basketball (above everything else), this book shifted strictly to them in a rather inexplicable and boring fashion. The main points and arguments were cut off not too long after the beginning, replaced by hilariously bad and impractical stories and "nuggets" that were supposed to showcase how negative thinking works? Honestly, If i didn't love basketball this book would be a terrible waste and 0 stars. I do NOT recommend.

[Ed Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realism

While the book is humorous in many spots, a bit of a slow read in a few others, it is one that should be on your reading list. Knight makes great points about preparation, candor and attitude in this well written book. You’ll get an appreciation for Knight’s style and humor, as well as a lot of clear opinion on how he feels about the feel good pablum served up by some leaders. A different, and real, perspective from a proven winner.

[Trae Mitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had its moments of brilliance, but not many of them. I guess I expected more from a coach who experienced success at such a high level and for so long. Contrary to what the title states, the text didn't really hit heavily on the power of "negative" thinking, but mostly just pointed out the dangers of being too positive. It's also filled with a lot of cliche's and famous quotes, of course annotated with Knight's witticisms.

[Paulo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro interessante sobre como vencer.

Em que pese o título, o autor discorre nesse opúsculo sobre como foi crescendo em sua carreira até a medalha olímpica de basquete, em Los Angeles, 1984, sobre a Espanha.

Tudo é fruto de trabalho árduo, união e muito esforço. Ensinamentos simples que refletem o bom senso.

[Jason Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This boils down to a few, simple points: preparation is essential, be adaptable, be skeptical and question everything to get to the root cause.
Knight's humor comes through in points, but beyond getting his anecdotal observations based on experience this book is forgettable.
Best line:
Cliche: David versus Goliath...
Knight: If there's a rematch, I'm being Goliath has a slingshot to.

[Praveen Dwarakanath · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book to read and implement...the deeper meaning of negative thinking needs to be understood carefully

.....strategy cones after a strong self reading and determination....a real contribution to the approach psychology for a trainer ....very good....

[Ayodele Cuffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical

This book is incredibly practical. I find myself needing practical strategies for life and this book, along with Dr. Jordan B. Peterson’s is giving me what I need.

If you want to figure out how to win this book needs to be in your collection.

[Viktor Nilsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes dwells on a bit too much on general issues of basket ball (and sometimes politics too) - at least if you're no interested in basket ball. I'm not, but I still found this book very revealing and eye-opening! You need to read this to give balance to the "optimism bias" society gives you.

[Frédéric Hayek · Rating 3 out of 5]

It delves more into the power of negative thinking and explains it more than its counterpart "The Power of Positive Thinking". Still, many sections are only an account of the author's coaching career with no outside purpose. Not a bad read if you're into basketball.

[Eneida Canev · Rating 2 out of 5]

fluffy and propagandized

What he tried to spin off as negative thinking is merely just preparation thinking. It’s not negative thinking it’s being prepared. He’s trying to spin off the Power of Positive Thinking and doesn’t get there.