The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n. from “Paradise Lost” by Milton
I do believe strongly that we create our own realities and that from the ugliest situation, a positive person will find something beneficial, and from the most perfect situation, a negative person will find something ugly. A positive person will remember all the fun things about her wedding, a negative person will remember all the mistakes. We positively or negatively interpret our experiences—then that becomes part of how we remember and pass on memories or actions. I don’t think any of us are 100% positive or negative, really.
Our outlook, unfortunately, doesn’t control the crap that befalls us—some of the most wonderful people I know have the worst crap crapped on them, and I know some seriously sour, unpleasant people who have it relatively easy. The crap isn’t evenly distributed- but how we react to it, how we interpret it or whether we find redeeming value from bad experiences or not, is wholly up to us.
That being said, The Secret and the ministry of Joel Osteen (same concept) is hokey horse-poo-poo. The reward of a positive outlook is inherent, not reflected in godly rewards. Sheesh.