Your Positive Thinking Could Be Holding You Back

New York Magazine:

The notion that simply imagining our deepest wishes coming true will help us attain them is everywhere these days. Best-­selling books like The Secret and Chicken Soup for the Soul teach us that we can make good things happen just by thinking positively, and that positive thinkers are “healthier, more active, more productive — and held in higher regard by those around them.”

Advertisers, politicians, and economists all put a premium on the importance of being happy and optimistic; financial markets rise and fall on whether or not people seem hopeful. Popular music celebrates the ability of dreaming and dreamers to save the world. We’re also warned from a young age and at every subsequent turn to rid ourselves of harmful “negative self-talk” or to “get out of the hole of negative thinking” if we want to succeed in life. An inspiring message posted on the wall of a Manhattan middle school exhorts kids to “Reach for the moon; even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

Read the whole story: New York Magazine