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The Pessimist & the Power of Positive Thinking

A page in the diary "Is the plural of Precipice "Precipi"?"
Written by akita1970 28. Apr 2008 05:57 PM

Whilst at work today I noticed a colleague had added a popular quote to his email auto-signature. I cannot get it or it's implications off my polluted foetid brain.

"That which doesn't kill me makes me stronger"

what plastic dogshit.

I can think of a dozen things that disprove it.

Marriage for a start. Work/life imbalance, high-carbohydrate diets, unrealistic and unachieveable goals of sobriety and sanity... all of these things fall into the category of not being directly fatal but nonetheless adding to the ever increasing pile of things to loath about myself.

The self-help gurus and pop-psychologists out there would say: "write down everytime you feel good and WHY you think you felt that way." Hell if I actually feel good one SURE way to make sure I get out of that good mood quickly is to turn intro-spective on the spot and start writing....reinforcing how rare that good feeling was and reminding me once again of how different "normal" people feel. just dandy that little tactic.

Well gee Sigmund, if it was as easy as focussing on positives and ignoring negatives your life's work wouldn't be so frigging popular would it??

What power does one individual have to change when so much of what influences us is outside of our control? What good does being positive do when the world is overwhelmingly negative? I realised that the only people who can remain positive are most likely lying about or they are truly, truly stupid.

Every step outside my door does nothing more than remind me that Australian society is facile, morally and intellectually bankrupt and completely enslaved in one fashion or another. I at least had the decency for a real addiction...unlike so many "normal" people who choose to be addicted to mindless consumerism, reality TV, fast food and the Entertainment News Channel.

The next plastic, fake, glib lip-service-like phrase offered to me as a panacea for my emotional & mental shortcomings will result in me offering to tattoo the quote on that moron's forehead with a garden trowel.

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Comments from the community:

Hi Akita,
I absolutely agree with you. There are so many of these "positive thinking" statements that I struggle with. Often said by people who have never experienced depression or thought too much about what they say.
There is a great website to go to that takes these positive thinking statements and gives them a great pessimistic twist. Go to www.despair.com - I am sure you will have a great laugh and may find a few posters you can pin up at work!
And I don't think you are a pessimist - much more a realist... you have known and experience the real depths of pain.. Take care.

Written by Stevo, 28. Apr 2008 06:40 PM

Hi Akita,
I absolutely agree with you. There are so many of these "positive thinking" statements that I struggle with. Often said by people who have never experienced depression or thought too much about what they say.
There is a great website to go to that takes these positive thinking statements and gives them a great pessimistic twist. Go to www.despair.com - I am sure you will have a great laugh and may find a few posters you can pin up at work!
And I don't think you are a pessimist - much more a realist... you have known and experience the real depths of pain.. Take care.

Written by Stevo, 28. Apr 2008 06:46 PM

Akita

There are plenty of positives statements around. If you don't like it, ignore it. It obviously means something to your workmate.

Go Akita!!!

Mrs Studying1

Written by studying1, 28. Apr 2008 07:34 PM

At the risk of feeling your garden trowel repeatedly whacking me in the head, try this one on for size.....

"Treat everything in life like a Fox Terrier,
If you cant eat it or screw it,
Piss on it and walk away!"

Oh and hey, "normal" is a relative term...

Dont aim to be "normal", keep the unique characteristics that set you apart from the rest of society. Dont become a cardboard copy of everyone else, just be YOU, thats all you gotta do. Anyone who expects anything else needs to eat the said "plastic dogshit"!

xxx

Written by Gyps, 28. Apr 2008 08:55 PM

I totally agree with you, Akita.
I know I sound like a pessimist but I think that what doesn't kill us usually just pushes us back down into the black pit that we all know so well.
Bad relationships in particular have made me weak, untrusting and bitter - I am certainly not strong anymore.
Cheyne

Written by hippiechick, 29. Apr 2008 12:09 AM