Positive Thinking Garbage

[nemesiss]

i do not think that positive thinking in it self is a wrong thing, but in my opinion it has to be in moderation.
there are situations where positive thinking can be useful. what comes to mind to me would be such things as medical operations which have a low succes-rate. im not just writing about the patient, but also relatives and the ones doing the procedure. the idea that they will do their best to make the operation a succes, even when the odds are against them, would be benificial.
granted, there are numbers involved which can prepare the patient and relative for an unsuccesfull operation and the doctors performing the operation are aware of the odds, which to them mean that they shouldn't take the operation lightly. so we shouldn't call this blind positive thinking, but this does begs a question.

When would such thinking (positive or negative) be considered blind?
Not everything can be "dumbed-down" to simple numbers, unexpected factors can play a huge role in the outcome. Even if statiscally something is likely to happen, it does not mean it will happen.

 

[CosmicJoghurt]

Positive thinking, the term by itself, doesn't really give much of a clue as to the specific ideas in question.

There's those who say that all you need to be happy is want it. There's those who say a positive attitude towards everyday or not so ordinary issues helps you get through them, physically and/or emotionally. Then there's the gigantic industry of delusional self-help which I won't discuss.

I'm happy to say I haven't been through much difficulty in life until now, physically, emotionally, academically, whatever. I've had the pleasure of being born into a welcoming family that works their ass off for me.
However certain events have changed things. My father is very seriously ill and my academic success so far has proven to make my life a whole lot more stressing.

Now, I consider myself a fairly rational person - I try to see things from the reasonable, palpable view and therefore the way I think is generally a thrive for realism. As far as I know I'm not capable of just letting it go and be happy, and smile wherever I go. Doesn't work for me. I notice that I don't act like most people. Something about the way I interact with the world and others confuses me, it's kind of hard to explain...
But I digress. The best I can do is both be realistic AND see the good things around and in me.

Blissfully ignorant positive thinking, I think is garbage. A bit of optimism, combined with a fair share of motivation, I think is best.

AyameTan, I'm sad to hear about your problems, though I won't be naive enough to claim I understand how you feel. I can't really reassure you either, so I'll just say, I hope things are really better know. If writing about it here helps at all, I'm sure I'm not the only one who will welcome your thoughts.

Back to the topic. Positive thinking and stuff.

 

[AyameTan]

AyameTan, I'm sad to hear about your problems, though I won't be naive enough to claim I understand how you feel. I can't really reassure you either, so I'll just say, I hope things are really better know. If writing about it here helps at all, I'm sure I'm not the only one who will welcome your thoughts.

I appreciate your candor and understanding. Writing my gripes down was a gargantuan help (I wish I had that level of support when I was in high school). The best way to avert suicide is to actually listen to the people in question, and not dismiss their complaints as "whinging." The canned canard of "Think about those who have it far worse than you" is only going to make their misery and depression more profound.

 

[)O( Hytegia )O(]

The night sky may be "the same" - but, I tell you now, there's just something about having a vector viewpoint where there's nothing but a few hills around you, and seeing nothing but a night sky after working a long, intensely stressful night. Watching the sunset from a mountainside, or the sunrise while drinking water because you're stuck waiting on a mobile transport that was driven by fucking morons who couldn't tell ridge from hillside if they fell off one (spoiler: Best 72 hour day ever).

But, I digress, happiness is found in satisfaction with what one has.

 

[prycejosh]

its good to think positive thats how faith works. you think positive and work for that thing with action and then it happens.