The Case Against Positive Thinking

BY SOFO ARCHON

“Just think positively, and your problems will disappear.”

This is the essence of what many self-help coaches, authors, and self-proclaimed spiritual gurus preach. It’s called “positive thinking,” and is selling remarkably well, considering that the “positive thinking” industry is a multibillion-dollar business.

But what if I told you that it’s total nonsense?

You might be thinking, “What the hell, Sofo, have you gone crazy? Your entire work is about dealing with suffering and discovering joy—in other words, about letting go of the negative and experiencing the positive—and now you’re saying that positive thinking is nonsense?”

Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying—at least when it comes to “positive thinking” as it’s commonly portrayed. But before you’re too quick to judge, let me explain.

Shutting Your Eyes Won’t Make Your Problems Disappear

Life contains both positive and negative aspects: pleasure and pain, love and hate, peace and war, and so on. According to the philosophy of “positive thinking,” however, we shouldn’t dwell on the negative side of life, or we should even pretend that it doesn’t exist. This way, we’re told, it won’t affect us. And if we simply focus on the positive, all negativity will go away.

“Don’t worry about starving children in Africa. Just pray for them, and they’ll be fine.”

“Don’t worry about rising sea levels, environmental pollution, or biodiversity loss. Just keep a ‘positive mindset,’ and the planet will recover from all the damage.”

“Don’t worry about the job you hate or your broken relationships. Just visualize that you’re already living the life of your dreams, and you’ll soon attract the perfect partner and career.”

Of course, I’m exaggerating a bit here for rhetorical effect, but you get the point: this way of thinking won’t do a damn thing about those problems. Children will still keep dying by the millions from hunger, the planet will keep being harmed, and your life will still keep sucking. In fact, those problems will likely get worse, for neglected problems tend to become more complicated over time.

To give you an analogy, “positive thinking” is like standing in a burning house while merely wishing the flames away or denying that they exist. Of course, the fire will likely keep spreading until it consumes everything in its path—yourself included.

That’s why I call “positive thinking” a nonsense philosophy. Not only does it not work, but it’s also counterproductive. So, why do so many people buy into it?

The Appeal of “Positive Thinking”

Somewhere, I read these profound words:

“Do not be afraid to accept ugly truths, and never be afraid to reject beautiful lies.”

Yet most people do the opposite: they accept beautiful lies while rejecting ugly truths. Why? Because accepting ugly truths would mean facing problems that need to be resolved—and resolving them often involves hardship, something most people are not willing to endure. Hence, they choose comforting lies over inconvenient truths.

It’s no wonder, therefore, that so many people buy into “positive thinking.” And, considering our profit-driven economy, it makes absolute sense that some cunning businessmen exploit people’s insecurities to sell them this philosophy.

Through my writing, I tell the truth as I see it—even when it’s painfully disturbing. I know that some readers might be put off by it. Yet I also know that it’s the only way to face our problems and actually do something to resolve them. So, if you’ve been following my work for a while, I want to take a moment to commend you for being a badass reader and a committed truth-seeker.

From “Positive Thinking” to Grounded, Action-Based Thinking

Imagine that you’re suffering from a debilitating disease that requires immediate medical treatment. You could pretend that it’s not serious enough and that you will recover from it without needing external help. In reality, however, the disease will persist, quite possibly get worse, and perhaps even kill you.

Now, imagine instead that a medical expert examines your condition, identifies the cause of your illness, and prescribes treatment. That may involve some pain resulting from, let’s say, surgery or strong medications. But no matter how uncomfortable that process is, you know it’s worth going through, for the treatment is temporary, while the relief can last a lifetime. So you follow the expert’s advice, and you heal.

If we want to resolve our problems, we need to act—not by chanting affirmations or wishing them away—but by standing up, rolling up our sleeves, and taking concrete steps toward change. To do so, however, we must be willing to look deeply into our problems, understand their root causes, and seek effective solutions.

Of course, that isn’t easy. Admitting our problems can be a bitter pill to swallow, and changing them might require painstaking effort. Yet, whether we like it or not, there’s no way around it: either we confront our problems and suffer for a short while, or we ignore them and suffer for the rest of our lives.