Why Being Positive Isn’t Always The Best Route To Take

There are tons of literature out there advocating "positive thinking" as the key to happiness. While numerous research findings have brought to light the many benefits of maintaining an optimistic outlook in life, some of us prefer to keep a more realistic perspective and reject adopting a Pollyanna view of the world. (Image source: Thomas Hawk) That said, many pop psychology books we see in bookstores today are actually pushing for the latter without adequately revealing the often hidden dangers of holding extreme, unrealistic optimism. Sure, positive thinking is an effective coping mechanism but, as with many things in life, balance is key. Too much of a good thing is often bad, just as overdosing on water can cause hyponatremia (or water intoxication). We need to ask ourselves how far we can go about with rose-tinted glasses before it actually becomes detrimental to us. To answer that question, let us observe at the following pitfalls of positive thinking and of holding an overly-optimistic outlook on life:

1. Disregarding Negative Emotions

Sadly, so much focus has been given to the power of positive thinking that we no longer appreciate the goodness of negative emotions. Contrary to what some self-help books may suggest, our psychological well-being doesn't simply improve when we attempt to will away all our sadness, anger, fear and other unpleasant feelings with positive thoughts. Think about it. Without feeling the emotional pain that inevitably arises from various setbacks we encounter in our lives, we will never be driven to change things for the better for ourselves and for others. Allowing oneself to feel a wide range of both positive and negative emotions helps [...]