#341 Not Constantly Up, Happy, Energized?

     "unless plagued with a mood disorder, our evaluation of the future depends largely on the situation. Yet, there is this psycho-spiritual pressure in the air of having to be positive, jovial, and enthusiastic all the time. ... this Zeitgeist (was) in part created by positive psychology. ... (this) artificially created positive mentality has contributed to the housing and banking crisis. Everybody involved seemed to have thrown caution – and ultimately bushels of money -- out the window. Usually well-balanced people were part of a groupthink: 'I believe, and therefore it will be.' "
     From a mindfulness perspective "happiness is not synonymous with or dependent on positive feelings. Instead happiness is having a good relationship with the whole of life, with the light and the darkness, the good and the bad, the concrete and the indefinable. How could there be lasting happiness if we exclude a part of life that is real and that serves a purpose. This understanding should inoculate everybody against the pressure of having to feel optimistic all the time."

       Andrea F. Polard Psy. D. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unified-theory-happiness/201306/cognitive-optimism-versus-zen-wisdom

 

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