Re: negativity…
I read something once that said that nothing will ever surpass what came out when you were twelve. What came out when you were twelve is the pinnacle of achievement.
There has actually been quite a few tests and research that more or less confirm this. Basically, it's not always at exactly "12", but more along the lines of "pre-to-mid teens" (11-16 or so I guess), and it has been confirmed that we are far more impressionable at that age, so things that are simply "good" later on would be "AWESOME!!!" at that age.