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The secret to life is positive imagery....if so, should I kill myself?

xisnotx

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Around the 1 minute mark.


I don't understand the logic that goes from:

-"Positive imagery is the secret of life"
-"If so, then kill yourself"

Positive imagery, that is, visualizing the various possibilities that are available to you, and experiencing the state of mind you would have if those possibilities were a reality, therefore giving yourself a decent mental framework of what it is you actually desire, is, to me at least, a worthwhile concept. I'm not saying it is THE secret...but I'd say it is A secret.

Do you agree that "it's gotta mean more than that" (life that is)?

His point about the starving African child is valid, yes, but I think it kind of misses the point.
 

Vasilisa

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I wrote a little bit about this in the thread Affirmations.
He may just trying to provoke laughter, but I wondered the same thing about The Secret, if it justifies the truly bad circumstances some humans find themselves in by suggesting that they had a hand in shaping this reality. Children orphaned and starving in Africa, North Koreans languishing in gulags, those kinds of horrors.
 

Andy

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I wrote a little bit about this in the thread Affirmations.
He may just trying to provoke laughter, but I wondered the same thing about The Secret, if it justifies the truly bad circumstances some humans find themselves in by suggesting that they had a hand in shaping this reality. Children orphaned and starving in Africa, North Koreans languishing in gulags, those kinds of horrors.

I've never read that book, but what I've heard about it is kind of disturbing. A positive mental outlook can be a good thing, but it totters over the edge into self delusion. Far s I'm concerned, the first step to solving a problem is thinking about it realistically.
 

UniqueMixture

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Of course it is just a way of coping w stress useful but there is no magic bullet. Actually there are some studies that suggest those exposed to high stressors for long periods of time tend to be overly positive inclined to high risk high reward behavior that can be unhealthy because it is overly risky. Actually this thinking pattern used to make me CRINGE! I had a super hot enfp computer programmer gf who bought into it though so I use it to talk to hot successful professional chicks :D

Edit: I think the blame the poor for their own circumstances thing is spot on. This is how people in privilege disassociate themselves from those who are not.
 
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Ginkgo

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I've never read that book, but what I've heard about it is kind of disturbing. A positive mental outlook can be a good thing, but it totters over the edge into self delusion. Far s I'm concerned, the first step to solving a problem is thinking about it realistically.

I agree.

a related incident
 

miss fortune

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wow... total failure to take uncontrollables into account and the necessity to escape certain situations :doh:

sitting around and thinking pretty thoughts while in a shitty situation won't make anything any better... sitting around and coming up with a plan to get out of it will... so why waste your time? :huh:
 
S

Society

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its a self-delusion that can materialize in certain areas of social interactions by relaxing one's stress and desperation ("i am thinking of it thus it will come") and confidence ("i know i am going to succeed"). many companies involve in aggressive sales method (telemarketing, mall kiosks, etc), drill "the secret" movie into their teams for these reasons. it can likewise be beneficial for cases in which you need to sell yourself such as job interviews.

it can also be very destructive, by forming cycles of guilt tripping - "o no, bad things are happening to me, why can't i get rid of my bad thoughts! o no this is a bad thought.. ", frustration - "why isn't thinking good thoughts giving me a better position in data mining where nobody see''s me and there's no benefits to confidence or social conduct". and discouraging empathy and charity, like suggested in the youtube link in the OP.

largely, i find that i have the capacity to suspend disbelief and maintain a belief for short term benefits despite not thinking that it's probable for a period of between 3 minutes and 2 months (unless you consider love in which case its 3-4 years). but i would never consider adopting this if i didn't know my on/off switches.
 

Lark

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Most people have been found to have an optimism bias, it is what permits them to live day by day and cope easily with the sort of expected set backs or challenges or fails which life brings. Material on affirmations and other sorts of positive psychology or learned optimism are about teaching those things, learning them, if you dont possess that bias.

Now perhaps there are those who should or could do with reality checks on their optimism bias, examples I can think of include those people who typify The Dunning-Kruger effect or the Peter Principle but despite showing up in studies like those two I mentioned those people are still a success or can transcend difficulties easier than someone who does not possess the optimism bias or who actually has a pessimism bias.
 

CrystalViolet

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Isn't it also a kind of priming thought process. If you are thinking positively about something, you are actually more likely to take steps to make it happen?
People are asses though. Trust me, I found out all about the darker side of the human race when my business failed ( as well as the good side.)
You really don't want to fall into the blind optimism trap, but these sorts of things are easy to see in hind sight.
 
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