Self Improvements
Does Positivity Really Work?
About the Toxic Positivity
Not long ago, I was on the phone discussing some future important plan with someone close enough to do so. I disagreed with this person on how things might go in the future, I mean I doubted that the plan would work, and thats why I got their clear and direct judgment “You are so pessimistic”. I am not, I was not. Being straightforwardly honest and practical, does not mean I am pessimistic. I was only questioning a few obstacles that might come our way, nothing more. The reaction toward that was the immediate condemnation of my “negativity.” It was that moment when I asked myself: Has positivity actually become a sort of social coercion instead of an authentic tool of well-being?
Positivity in today’s culture has reached an almost sacred level. We are constantly encouraged to “look on the bright side” and “stay positive,” as if this mantra holds some magic that will change reality. Yet, research into positive psychology did show that indeed optimistic thinking can influence outcomes under certain circumstances. As Peterson and Seligman have discussed, the habitually optimistic person tends to be more resistant to adversity and springs back faster when they encounter setbacks (2). This, however, is just part of a far more complicated overall picture.
