Norman Vincent Peale was right, said John Cloud in Time. There is power in positive thinking, as Peale said in his 1952 book—but a study by Canadian psychologists just published in the journal Psychological Science says trying to get people to think more positively might "simply highlight how unhappy they are." The study suggests people might be better off accepting their negative thoughts instead of waging a futile battle against them—"call it the power of negative thinking."
Repeating the statement "I am a lovable person" will make you feel better if you already feel good about yourself, said the New York Post, but in the study it "made the already gloomy people feel worse." So "try this on for a new self-help mantra: "I'm not good enough, I'm not smart enough, and doggone it, people may not like me all that much."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plantSpeed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
-
Today's political cartoons - April 22, 2024Cartoons Monday's cartoons - dystopian laughs, WNBA salaries, and more
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aidSpeed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
