Beware of the mouthpiece of fake illusions

Positivity and positive thinking have taken over the world as a concept in the past few decades, while actively debating if “positivity” is a real word. Before I delve into decoding the ideology behind the concept, it is important to note the definition of the word itself. Hence, it becomes important to highlight the debate on the usage of the word. The debate is real and has been going on ever since the word came into light.

Is “positivity” a real word? And what it means

There are several clarifications on both sides of the debate regarding the word and both equally convincing. It is said in several places that the word “positivity” dates back more than its counterpart word “negativity”. Though I found the definition of “positivity” in several online dictionaries, I also found several online sources that emphasize that positiveness must be used instead of positivity. In addition, this word was missing in many old print dictionaries that I have.

According to dictionaries that define positivity as a word, it means “The quality of being positive or optimistic in attitude”. The definition seems to blur the line between positiveness and optimism. But both have a big difference in meaning. In simple words, an optimistic person looks at the future with a belief that good things will happen regardless of the present situation, while a positive attitude means looking at the bright side of a situation, thing or person in the present.

Here, I will stick to calling it “positivity” as a concept, rather than the word itself to keep up with the trend these days, so that I can make my point effectively.

The illusion of positivity

Simply googling for articles on positivity lays a vast pool of write ups in results, focusing on having a positive attitude, often blurring the lines between positive attitude, optimism, eagerness, hope and enthusiasm. But they are all very different in meaning to each other. This is when all these write ups and subsequent presentations of the idea produce an illusion of positivity in the minds of the reader or listener.

The illusion suggests that we look at the bright side in any situation and focus on that. But what does that mean for our reaction and decisions? It means we totally leave out the downfalls, threats and pitfalls which they call as the negatives. And that results in our decisions being independent of the immediate warnings for impending damage. So in this situation, did positivity do any good for us? I don’t think so.

Let us put aside the concept of positivity for a bit, and look at the concept of optimism. Optimism tells us to believe that good things will happen in the future regardless of the present situation. It is more of a personality trait than a choice. You choose to be optimistic in your way of life, which instills a sense of hope for the future. But it doesn’t mean that you have turned a blind eye to the impending dangers, threats and warnings of a situation. Living a life of optimism has no effect on your decision making for the future.

Coming back to positivity, I called it an illusion because it instills a false sense of relief based on some existing positive points of a situation. While going over the articles, I also came across a point made in several of them that positivity leads to better decision making because relief induces clarity in thinking. Surely it is a valid point; agreed. However, were the after effects taken into consideration? I think not. It is an obvious knowledge that everyone’s thought process is different. Does that mean that once they are relieved with their given situation, will they look at the threats and impending dangers? They won’t, because they are still in the illusion of the positivity and hence their decision making suffers too. This continuous cascade of misinterpreted situations and corresponding misjudged decisions will take you more and more into a slump in life. While you appear seemingly jolly because you are a “positive” person, but you may be inwardly breaking because your decisions may be taking you towards pessimism with no hope. So while you have everything, you are left with nothing.

Entry into optimism

It’s high time to come out of the illusion. It is time to look at the real situation and weigh your life on a scale of realism with an optimistic outlook. Given a situation where you are stuck, you weigh your pros and cons equally, you look at your future with a belief that the future will bring better days, then you make your decisions that will work on reducing the negatives than increasing the positives, and hence when life starts getting better, you are a real person with an optimistic outlook. It instills a hope in you for a better future, that in turn motivates you to work harder and smarter.

In my opinion, the definition of positivity needs to be revamped. Being positive should mean knowing the truth, because only the truth, whether good or bad, is the existing positivity in your life which will take you ahead. Only looking at the “good” truth and ignoring the “bad” truth means evaluating only half the truth and I don’t have to reiterate how destructive it can be for anyone. So, in short, what’s the solution?

1. Look at life as it is, not how you want it to be
2. What you want is not always what happens
3. Be a smart thinker and not a hard thinker
4. Focus on the real, not on the ideal

Focusing on these four points will be beneficial to you because it forces you to use your brain in all situations, and using your brain power will always only help you in your life. Point to ponder?

Be inspired! Be satisfied! Be Priya-fied!

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