So what is the difference between 'power thinking' and 'positive' thinking? The distinction is slight but profound. To me, people us positive thinking to pretend that everything is rosy, when they really believe that it's not. With power thinking, we understand that everything is neutral, that nothing has meaning except for the meaning we give it, and that we are going to make up a story and give something it's meaning.This is the difference between positive thinking and power thinking. With positive thinking, people believe that their thoughts are true. Power thinking recognizes that our thoughts are not true, but since we're making up a story anyway, we might as well make up a story that supports us. We don't do this because our new thoughts are 'true' in an absolute sense, but because they are more useful to us and feel a heck of a lot better than nonsupportive ones.