Past: Depression vs Thankful | Present: Disconnected vs Grateful  | Future: Anxious vs Hopeful  ------ There are two mindsets that matter: active and passive. With a passive mind, things happen to you and you're not responsible for them. An active mind, on the other hand, means ownership. The difference between a passive and active mind is easy to spot. For example, if someone arrives late because of traffic, do they blame the traffic or take ownership and say they failed to account for traffic.