Sara Crolick looks closer at the positive thinking—is it really all that it’s cracked up to be?
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If we just think happy thoughts—happy-enough, that is—everything will be fine, right?
I am the type of person who tries to be happy. I try to be as happy as I can as often as I can. I try to be happy because being unhappy doesn’t feel nice. Being unhappy makes others unhappy. Being unhappy perpetuates more unhappiness.
So I’m happy—as happy as possible.
When books like The Secret and Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting became mainstream staples of the ‘Mindful Masses’ our culture felt the shockwaves of a movement like no other—a positivity movement. Like a tidal wave of life-affirming sentiments, this new-age way of thinking wiped our minds clean(-ish) of self-doubt, hate and pessimism. It transformed the way we structured internal dialogue, it taught us about silver linings and gratitude.
So why then are there throngs of anti-happy thinkers?
What could possibly be wrong with this positive movement?
Barbara Ehrenreich, an author and political activist, explores what she deems to be the dark side of positive thinking—and no, that’s not an oxymoron.
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