If you are using reversals, then that seals the deal. Negative when reversed, positive when not. If you are not using reversals, then as said, consider position, and consider other cards.
In a CC for example, if the near future card isn't looking so good (say, 7/Cups, daydreaming), then maybe you should consider the outcome card in the negative (10/Cups fantasyland denial). If the near future is more positive (the Sun--seeing things clearly, feeling energized and productive), suggesting you might be moving forward in the right direction, then the outcome might be seen in a positive light (10/Cups--a solid partnership and loving family).
Those other cards are there for a reason, and the picture they paint leads up to the outcome. Sometimes that outcome is glowing and successful in spite of the odds presented by the other cards, but often the outcome reflects the sum of all those other cards. What's most important to remember, however, is that the outcome is not set in stone. If it suggests to you the negative (fantasyland), well, now you know. And now you can ask the cards, "How can I turn this negative into a positive?" How, in other words, can you turn that reversal right-side-up.
The cards aren't there to show you what is next in your script of life, written by someone else like a movie. The cards are there to help *you* write up your own script; to help you avoid outcomes that you don't want, and create outcomes that you do want. To make what you want to happen, happen if it's at all possible.