You’ve heard the same message from an early age.
“Think positive. Be optimistic. Look at the bright side of things.”
It’s repeated over and over again in pop music, political speeches, and commercials.
No matter what you want to achieve, the message is the same:
Focus on your dreams, eliminate negative self-talk, and your wish will inevitably come true.
The problem, unfortunately, is that it doesn’t work.
The Downsides of Positive Thinking
Gabrielle Oettingen is a professor of psychology and the author of Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation1.
After studying motivation for more than 20 years, she has found that a positive outlook isn’t as great as conventional wisdom tells us.
In fact, dreamers are often non-doers.
