Behavioural counsellors everywhere don’t tire of harping on the importance of positive thinking. Though it may sound like an obvious solution to worrying and anxiety, positive thinking doesn’t work as seamlessly in certain situations.
Here’s how positive thinking can render you baseless and confused:
Some are just not positive thinkers
At the very outset, let’s talk about people who just aren’t conditioned to think positively. A recent study discovered that people who aren’t predisposed to positive thinking, when asked to suppress their natural negative responses in favour of positive ones, showed a more marked slide into negative thought. This clearly demonstrates forcing people to undermine their most natural reactions can cause more tumult within.
Positive thought obscure dangers
A certain degree of paranoia is justified. It keeps people on their toes and aware of the dangers around. Overwhelming such self-preserving tendencies with unfounded positive thoughts could be detrimental. Most obviously, it would blind people to risks and prevent them from taking the right precautions, leaving them vulnerable to untoward incidents, which might happen.
Positive thinking is good in doses
More than thinking positively about everything all the time, a person must instead work to develop a balance between positive and negative thought. Being optimistic is effective only when it is tempered by practicality. In fact, a streak of ruthless practicality allows you to be firmer about your optimism, since you know it is an actual possibility and not just a shot in the dark.
Give the negativity its due
All of us go through certain unpleasant experiences. No matter how much we might dislike them, the one undeniable fact is that each of those experiences help us grow. This growth is not possible if we are constantly in the habit of switching around circumstances to maintain a delusion of positivity. People should instead face upto the misfortune of certain situations and accept it as such.
These are only few of the reasons why unmitigated positive thinking can actually harm a person in the long run. After all, if it was that easy to shake off worrying, counsellors the world over would’ve been without a job.