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Positive thinking is a major aspect of most societal constructs. Think about it: you were a hardcore Bernie Sanders fan. You wanted him to win desperately and thought he was the only choice. He doesn’t win the primary; Hillary does. You immediately shift to positive thinking mode — “It will be OK; at least she’ll beat Trump” — even as news leaks out that maybe the DNC cooked the books on ol’ Bern. It’s OK. Positive thinking. Positive thinking. Good thoughts.
Then Hillary goes and loses to Trump, and 13 days in, the liberal side of our collective echo chamber has used the word “chaos” more times than a consultant uses the term “value-add.” So now your whole mantle and aura of positive thinking is out the window. You’re collapsed in a heap.
Maybe — just maybe — the whole notion of positive thinking is bullshit, then.
Do I mean that you should view everything as negative and just give up? Of course not. At that point, why even bother waking up every day? What I mean is that the consultant/coaching/leadership industry is big on “change your mindset” and “the power of positive thinking” and maybe that’s a bit too superficial. Maybe there’s more nuance.
Positive thinking vs. negative thoughts
First thing I think you absolutely have to understand here: many of us are…
