The internet is full of memes about positive thinking. I saw this quote a few days ago:"The only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude."
At first glance, it contains some truth. Of course, the way we think about things can influence our relationship with them. But taken too far, this kind of thinking turns into something insidious and destructive.
In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, we explore the darker side of positive thinking.
https://youtu.be/E0JCsl_u_7M?si=XAHxf4c2LB578QIr
I remember hearing someone suggest replacing 'have to' with 'get to' as a way to live with more gratitude for things we take for granted. Again, that can definitely be a useful reframe at times. But the associated claim that words impact thoughts and thoughts are the only thing that create our reality can quickly become an imprisoning and judgemental superstition. Toxic positivity encourages emotional suppression and shame, where anything other than optimism is considered weakness or failure.
You've Only Got Yourself To Blame
If we follow the logic that our thoughts dictate our reality to its extreme, we land in a society shaped by what philosopher Byung-Chul Han calls the achievement imperative. In this world, external rules are replaced by internal commands. We no longer respond to "you should" or "you must." Instead, we internalise the injunction to perpetually "live our passion," "find our purpose," and "optimise our potential."
Han quotes Tony Robbins, who promotes this mindset by saying,"When you set a goal, you’ve committed to CANI (Constant, Never-Ending Improvement)! You’ve acknowledged the need that all human beings have for constant, never-ending improvement. There is a power in the pressure of dissatisfaction, in the tension of temporary discomfort. This is the kind of pain you want in your life."
This leads to a permanent state of temporary discomfort. There is always something to optimise, improve, and change. Never rest. Never be satisfied.
The Problem With Pathological Positivity
Toxic positivity - we might describe it as pathological positivity (though I've seen a book of that name painting it as a desirable state of being, so that's a bit odd)- thrives on the belief that we should reframe negative thoughts. But there is a big difference between resistance and repression. A good comparison comes from Viktor Frankl, the Holocaust survivor, founder of logotherapy and author of Man’s Search for Meaning. He wrote:"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way".
Choosing Your Response vs Blaming Your Attitude
Unlike self-help slogans, Frankl’s words do not offer easy comfort. He was not promoting positive thinking. He was describing something he observed in those who were stripped of their humanity and subjected to unimaginable suffering. For Frankl, attitude was not a shortcut to happiness or material prosperity, but a form of resistance and an expression of power over an oppressor. It was a way to maintain dignity in the face of dehumanisation. His message was not about pretending things are okay, but about facing reality with courage and integrity.
This contrasts with James Allen’s 1903 As a Man Thinketh, often credited with laying the foundation for mindset-focused personal development and the Law of Attraction. Allen writes:"All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.""Suffering is always the effect of wrong thought."
These statements are not just simplistic. They can be dangerous. They suggest that all suffering is self-inflicted, that illness, grief,