Is positive thinking positive or is it negative? That is, is it helpful or harmful? Judging by the titles of some books and the headlines of some newspaper and magazine articles, I can easily see how people could become confused. For example, one book is entitled, Illuminate: Harnessing the Positive Power of Negative Thinking. The author’s thesis is don’t run from, supress, or hide problems, shine light on them; face them! But isn’t that what positive thinkers do? The author explains what he means by illuminate: “It’s about seeing negative issues in a positive light.” Isn’t that a definition of positive thinking?
It may be interesting to see how a theory that “positive thinking is bad for you” develops, spreads, and mutates. An article in the May 2011 issue of Scientific American plants seeds of doubt with this title, Can Positive Thinking Be Negative? And the July 4, 2009 issue of The Times (London, England) boldly proclaims, Positive thinking has a negative side, scientists find. Repeating positive phrases may backfire when used by the very people who are in need of them the most, a study suggests. Finally, a well written article on Facebook announces, The peril of positive thinking – why positive messages hurt people with low self-esteem.
The three articles were all based on the research of Professor Joanne Wood, which is described in The Times’ article as follows:
“Researchers (Professor Wood`s team) sought to assess how positive thinking affected people with varying levels of self-confidence. They questioned dozens of men and women, measured their self-esteem using the standard psychological methods and then asked them to write down their thoughts and feelings.
“In the middle of the exercise, some were assigned to tell themselves:
‘I am a loveable person’ every time a bell was rung. After the exercise, they were asked a series of further questions to measure their self-worth and optimism. The scoring system ranged from 0 to 35.
“The confidence of those with high self-esteem appeared to have been boosted further by repeating the phrase. They scored an average of 31 compared with an average of 25 for those with equally high self-esteem who did not.
“Those with low self-esteem who repeated the statement scored a dismal average of 10. Their peers with equally low self-esteem who were not asked to do so managed a rather more chirpy average of 17.
“The findings were published in this year’s (2009) Psychological Science journal.
“Joanne Wood, Professor of Psychology at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and an author of the report, said it seemed that repeating positive statements worked only if it reinforced what the person already believed.
“It appears that positive self-statements, despite their widespread endorsement, may backfire for the very people who need them the most,” she said.
“I think that what happens is that when a low-self-esteem person repeats positive thoughts, all they do is contradict what is there already. So if they’re saying, ‘I’m a loveable person’, they might then think, ‘Well, I’m not always loveable’ or ‘I’m not loveable in this way’. Then these contradictory thoughts may overwhelm the positive thoughts.”
“Professor Wood said that positive thinking might be effective when it is used as part of a broader programme of therapy. ‘But on its own it tends to have the reverse effect of what it is supposed to do.
'Recapping, we have been told that positive thinking can be harmful by three different sources merely because Professor Wood did a small test of a single affirmation, that wasn’t worded for effectiveness, and which was practiced for an extremely short period. How does this small test lead Professor Wood to conclude, “…positive thinking might be effective when it is used as part of a broader programme of therapy. But on its own it tends to have the reverse effect of what it is supposed to do.”?
But my purpose here is not to find fault with Professor Wood, but to point out how stories about possible ‘harmful’ effects of positive thinking develop and flourish. Some authors rail against ‘positive thinking,’ but in the process they completely change the meaning of the subject they argue against.
So, what is positive thinking? Although it can be traced back to ancient times, we have Dr. Norman Vincent Peale to thank for revitalizing it and burning it into our psyche with his landmark book The Power of Positive Thinking, which was first published in 1952. But the question remains, what is it? It’s based on a simple premise; mainly, we create our lives with our thoughts, (which is a teaching of Buddha as well). In other words, if I spend most of my time harbouring negative thoughts, I will have negative experiences and an unhappy life. On the other hand, if I ‘accentuate the positive,’ ‘walk on the sunny side of the street,’ and look on the bright side, I will enjoy life.
Positive thinking is pragmatic because it works, and negative thinking is illogical because it is self-defeating. It is also helpful to think of positive thinking as any type of thinking that empowers us, makes us stronger, more capable, and better able to cope with and enjoy the adventure of life For this reason, I like to think of positive thinking as expansive and ever growing.
Who gets more done and enjoys life more, the pessimist or the optimist? Hope in the future, faith in ourselves, and enthusiasm about life empower us. Cynicism, doubt in ourselves, and despair about the future dampen, if not crush, our spirit. Isn’t that reason enough to choose to be a positive thinker?
