There are two types of positive thinking.\u00c2\u00a0 You can be optimistic about what you think, or you can be positive in how you think.\u00c2\u00a0 One is useful and the other is dangerous.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfortunately, the difference between the two is often subtle, and I rarely see anyone addressing this issue directly.<\/p>\n
Optimism is believing things will turn out well, even when the evidence argues the opposite.\u00c2\u00a0 The problem with this kind of positive thinking is that it moves you away from the truth.\u00c2\u00a0 Whenever you move away from the truth of your situation, you\u2019ll make poor decisions and get lousy results.<\/p>\n
Consider the following cases of dangerous optimism:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s obvious that, in these cases, believing good things will happen is going to keep you from making improvements in your life.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfounded optimism is dangerous.<\/p>\n
Despite these examples, many people (and many authors) have argued that there are benefits to deceive yourself into believing unlikely, good things will happen.\u00c2\u00a0 This has created a lot of the confusion towards positive thinking and, in my opinion, much of the cynicism towards the self-help movement.<\/p>\n
Often stated examples are:<\/p>\n
In these cases, I\u2019ll agree, optimism can be helpful.\u00c2\u00a0 The problem is that it\u2019s impossible to neatly separate the cases of genuinely helpful optimism from dangerous optimism.\u00c2\u00a0 A lie is a lie, no matter how you spin it.<\/p>\n
A better perspective to adopt is one that stays true to your situation, but also gives you the motivation you need to work hard.\u00c2\u00a0 Here are a few perspectives to consider that are honest, but also encourage you to keep going:<\/p>\n
These are just a few perspectives, but there are countless others.\u00c2\u00a0 The point is that you shouldn\u2019t need to lie to yourself in order to stay motivated.\u00c2\u00a0 Realistically viewing the situation should push you to make the best decisions.\u00c2\u00a0 The reason this happens is when you cultivate the genuinely good form of positive thinking.<\/p>\n
Optimism is thinking positive about the things that will happen.\u00c2\u00a0 A positive attitude, on the other hand, is about being positive in the way you think about things.\u00c2\u00a0 Unlike optimism, a positive attitude doesn\u2019t invite falsehoods.\u00c2\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t ask that you surrender your reasoning abilities in order to make decisions.\u00c2\u00a0 Because a positive attitude aligns with the truth of your reality, you can be as positive as you like without the dangers of overconfidence or arrogance.<\/p>\n
In order to explain the difference between attitude and optimism, I\u2019ll use an example.\u00c2\u00a0 Let\u2019s say you\u2019re unhealthy.\u00c2\u00a0 Although this may seem like a cold fact, there are really many ways you can represent this to yourself internally:<\/p>\n
All of these are true.\u00c2\u00a0 You can\u2019t look at any one of those statements and disagree with it if you\u2019re actually out of shape.\u00c2\u00a0 However, you\u2019re brain can\u2019t think with all of those patterns simultaneously.\u00c2\u00a0 You can only think one perspective at a time.\u00c2\u00a0 A positive attitude is about cultivating the perspectives that are the most useful for generating change.<\/p>\n
Optimism would involve deceiving yourself about the results.\u00c2\u00a0 You would claim that you weren\u2019t going to suffer because of your poor health or that you weren\u2019t really unhealthy.\u00c2\u00a0 You might also believe that changing your health would be easy (and quickly give up when it gets too hard).\u00c2\u00a0 A positive attitude doesn\u2019t make that error.<\/p>\n
Getting a positive attitude is all about earning new perspectives.\u00c2\u00a0 The more perspectives you have at your disposal, the more choices you have to represent a situation.\u00c2\u00a0 One reason I read so many books is to cultivate additional perspectives.\u00c2\u00a0 Sometimes the perspective isn\u2019t useful, in which case I\u2019ll drop it.\u00c2\u00a0 Other times, the perspective helps me see through one of my own lousy thinking patterns.<\/p>\n
A positive attitude is like having a lot of tools in your garage.\u00c2\u00a0 When a pipe bursts or a screw comes loose, you have many different tools to fix it.\u00c2\u00a0 It isn\u2019t about lying to yourself that the pipe isn\u2019t leaking, it\u2019s about having more than just a hammer and a nail to fix everything.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t have a positive attitude, there are two possible causes:<\/p>\n
In the first case, you need to get out and find more tools.\u00c2\u00a0 If all you have is a hammer, look around for screwdrivers, drill bits and wrenches.\u00c2\u00a0 You can do this by reading a larger variety of books by different authors.\u00c2\u00a0 Joining new organization also injects new patterns of thinking, as does meeting new people and cultures.<\/p>\n
If the second case is the problem, you have to force yourself to think from a different tool set.\u00c2\u00a0 You might see every problem as being unsolvable by you except by the direct intervention of luck or a higher power.\u00c2\u00a0 This may be helpful in some cases, but unless you train yourself to think with another set of tools (some that are more independent), you\u2019ll be stuck in a lot of situations.<\/p>\n
The worth of a set of tools is defined by it\u2019s usefulness.\u00c2\u00a0 Your attitude should always be accurate to the evidence available.\u00c2\u00a0 Any tool, even if temporarily helpful, that causes you to lie to yourself is ultimately dangerous.\u00c2\u00a0 However, even for accurate tools, there is still a huge range in the level of usefulness for each.<\/p>\n
A perspective is useful if it:<\/p>\n
Helen Keller\u2019s quote that I used earlier in the article is a great example.\u00c2\u00a0 By saying life is either a daring adventure or nothing, she contrasts this useful attitude to the more common, defeatist perspective on life.<\/p>\n
Positive thinking isn\u2019t about what you think, it\u2019s how you think.\u00c2\u00a0 If you\u2019re optimistic with your results, you\u2019ll ultimately head away from reality and towards self-deception.\u00c2\u00a0 If you\u2019re positive with you\u2019re attitude, you make realistic decisions that inspire you to move forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are two types of positive thinking.\u00c2\u00a0 You can be optimistic about what you think, or you can be positive in how you think.\u00c2\u00a0 One is useful and the other is dangerous.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfortunately, the difference between the two is often subtle, and I rarely see anyone addressing this issue directly. Optimism – Dangerous Positive Thinking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9,681],"tags":[155,33,25,156,264],"class_list":{"0":"post-879","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-courage","7":"category-nc-mindset","8":"tag-attitude","9":"tag-confidence","10":"tag-motivation","11":"tag-optimism","12":"tag-positive-thinking","13":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n