Toxic Positivity: Dealing with a good thing gone too far

Despite what the positivity gurus will tell you — there is too much of a good thing. This is how to deal when positivity goes too far.

E.B. Johnson | NLPMP | Editor
Practical Growth
Published in
11 min readSep 4, 2019

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Photo by Ben Maguire on Unsplash

by: E.B. Johnson

Positive thinking can be powerful, but it can also be limiting and destructive too. While any successful endeavor we undertake requires a certain amount of positivity, it also requires realism. We can be stunted in our personal and professional growth by an overwhelm of positive thinking, or the belief that our positive thinking alone will make things better. Life requires action, not just happy thoughts.

When you take thinking on the upside too far, it can actually result in toxic positivity — a condition that’s marked by the layers of consequences that come from relying too much on your happy thoughts. While looking on the bright side can bring you many things, it can’t bring you everything, but that’s something that takes careful consideration and understanding to realize.

What is toxic positivity?

Toxic positivity is many things, but mostly it’s our tendency to over rely on our positive thoughts (or desires) as a means to get where we want to be. It’s insisting that the silver lining is the…

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E.B. Johnson | NLPMP | Editor
Practical Growth

NLPMP Coach | Writer & Content Creator | Sharing my knowedge with the world ⭐️ https://linktr.ee/ebjohnson01