--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the positive thoughts would give way…" description: "\"But the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts, and the negative thoughts seemed to swoop into her mind the way a big flock of black cro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abf/jeannette-walls-1378_bigs_but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way_470102.jpg" --- # But the positive thoughts would give way to negative… ![“But the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts, and the negative thoughts seemed to swoop into her mind the way a big flock of black crows takes over the landscape, sitting thick in the trees and on the fence rails and lawns, staring at you in ominous silence.” quote by Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abf/jeannette-walls-1378_bigs_but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way_470102.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abf/jeannette-walls-1378_bigs_but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way_470102.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abf/jeannette-walls-1378_bigs_but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way_470102.jpg) > “But the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts, and the negative thoughts seemed to swoop into her mind the way a big flock of black crows takes over the landscape, sitting thick in the trees and on the fence rails and lawns, staring at you in ominous silence.” [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Negative thoughts can overwhelm, crowding the mind like dark crows, creating a heavy, oppressive atmosphere. **In simple terms:** Bad thoughts can flood your mind like a flock of crows. Key Takeaway Recognize and address negative thoughts early. Themes mental health overcoming mindset resilience perception Mood anxious reflective somber Type narrative descriptive cautionary When to use this quote - stressful workday - personal crisis - therapy session - creative block - relationship conflict Key Concepts cognitive intrusion emotional overwhelm Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your negative thoughts? - How can you create mental space to let them pass? A Different Perspective Negative thoughts may be rooted in underlying issues that need deeper exploration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crows/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Negative thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative-thoughts/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Positive thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-thoughts/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) ## Related quotes > [Animals like crows, owls or black cats are not ominous at all; it is the men's superstitious mind which is the inauspicious one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/animals-like-crows-owls-or-black-cats-are-not-ominous-at-all-it-is/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I call it people pleasing. Look that up in your phy book. Be happy your not good at it and learn your lesson early.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/i-call-it-people-pleasing-look-that-up-in-your-phy-book-be-happy-your/) Hemantsmarty > [3 N's NEGATIVE view's on life, NEGATIVE thoughts, NEGATIVE action toward others = BITTERNESS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keshia-kemp/3-n-s-negative-view-s-on-life-negative-thoughts-negative-action/) Keshia Kemp > [Life is a reflection of what you think. If your thoughts are negative, the world you see will be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-brown/life-is-a-reflection-of-what-you-think-if-your-thoughts-are-negative/) [Leon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-brown/) > [Right underneath your thoughts and negative emotions exists an ocean of love. You have but to quiet the mind to experience it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ann-kipfer/right-underneath-your-thoughts-and-negative-emotions-exists-an-ocean/) [Barbara Ann Kipfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ann-kipfer/) > [It can be easy to get swept up into catastrophizing the situation once your thoughts become negative. When you begin predicting doom and gloom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-morin/it-can-be-easy-to-get-swept-up-into-catastrophizing-the-situation/) [Amy Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-morin/) > [“Thoughts manifest without our wanting them to, and most of the time, those thoughts are negative. Anger, frustrations, self-doubts, they dance around in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howtorelax-blog-team/thoughts-manifest-without-our-wanting-them-to-and-most-of-the-time/) HowToRelax Blog Team > [“Nothing has a greater influence over your life than your thoughts rather they are negative or positive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-hoggatt/nothing-has-a-greater-influence-over-your-life-than-your-thoughts/) [Tasha Hoggatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-hoggatt/) > [Gossip, problems of the past, events you cannot control, negative thoughts and negative people; time spent on these is time poorly wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/gossip-problems-of-the-past-events-you-cannot-control-negative/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“No matter what we do, each instant contains infinite choices. 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It's not enough just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/if-you-engage-in-positive-thinking-to-overcome-negative-thoughts-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“The Crows of the region could have told them that there are almost always more Crows around them than they can see; but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/the-crows-of-the-region-could-have-told-them-that-there-are-almost/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) ## More by Jeannette Walls > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“You should never hate anyone, not even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You had to find the redeeming quality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-not-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [With a complicated childhood, you can either focus on the positive or the negative, and I chose to focus on the positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/with-a-complicated-childhood-you-can-either-focus-on-the-positive-or/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [She never felt sorry for herself, and that was something I decided I admired most in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/she-never-felt-sorry-for-herself-and-that-was-something-i-decided-i/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“If you want to live in the farmland, haul your sorry hide off to Pennsylvania.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/if-you-want-to-live-in-the-farmland-haul-your-sorry-hide-off-to/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“I WAS SITTING IN a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/i-was-sitting-in-a-taxi-wondering-if-i-had-overdressed-for-the/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [I had the big shoulders; I had the big hair. I loved the '80s. It was all about power women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/i-had-the-big-shoulders-i-had-the-big-hair-i-loved-the-80s-it-was-all/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [Things usually work out in the end." "What if they don't?" "That just means you haven't come to the end yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/things-usually-work-out-in-the-end-what-if-they-don-t-that-just-means/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“That was the way man was meant to live, he’d say, in harmony with the wild, like the Indians, not this lords-of-the-earth crap, trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/that-was-the-way-man-was-meant-to-live-he-d-say-in-harmony-with-the/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [Sometimes you need a little crisis to get your adrenaline flowing and help you realize your potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/sometimes-you-need-a-little-crisis-to-get-your-adrenaline-flowing-and/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“Don’t be afraid of your dark places,” Mom told her. “If you can shine a light on them, you’ll find treasure there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/don-t-be-afraid-of-your-dark-places-mom-told-her-if-you-can-shine-a/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [I hate Erma," I told Mom... "You have to show compassion for her..." She added that you should never hate anyone, even your worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/i-hate-erma-i-told-mom-you-have-to-show-compassion-for-her-she-added/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“Sad state to spend your life in. Being afraid of your own self." Rex Walls”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/sad-state-to-spend-your-life-in-being-afraid-of-your-own-self-rex/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [I was so worried that people wouldn't like me or my story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/i-was-so-worried-that-people-wouldn-t-like-me-or-my-story/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“the surest way to feel rich was to invest in quality nonessentials.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/the-surest-way-to-feel-rich-was-to-invest-in-quality-nonessentials/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) [Explore all 247 Jeannette Walls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts, and the negative thoughts seemed to swoop into her mind the way a big flock of black crows takes over the landscape, sitting thick in the trees and on the fence rails and lawns, staring at you in ominous silence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeannette Walls" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way-to-negative-thoughts-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bigs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way-to-negative-thoughts-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abf/jeannette-walls-1378_bigs_but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way_470102.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abf/jeannette-walls-1378_bigs_but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way_470102.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abf/jeannette-walls-1378_bigs_but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way_470102.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts, and the negative thoughts seemed to swoop…” — Jeannette Walls", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeannette Walls", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But the positive thoughts would give...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way-to-negative-thoughts-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way-to-negative-thoughts-and-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```