The pervasive cult of positivity in our culture is ruining this nation, so argues Barbara Ehrenreich in her thought-provoking book, Brightsided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. If a primary goal of her writing is to challenge the conventional wisdom that we must all be positive to achieve wealth and health, she certainly accomplished that mission with me. I think about this book, and the counterintuitive thinking it encourages, nearly every day. I finished her book, and it crystallized in my mind why comic strips like Dilbert and shows like The Office resonate with me (and many others). In every strip or episode, reality is revealed and laid bare within the corporate fantasy backdrop of positivity. This book focuses the reader on reality, and isn’t that where we should live most of the time?
Her journey in the book begins with her breast cancer diagnosis, which most would agree is a negative event. Not to worry, she finds out. If she remains positive, she can “beat” cancer. She can be a survivor, if only she “fights” harder with her mind, and remains mentally tough. Stay positive, and she will “win” is the constant message drummed into her from friends, support group members, the mainstream media, and even doctors. “Winning” is defining as surviving, while “losing” is synonymous with dying. It sets up a difficult position for anyone who succumbs to the disease. “If only you had been more positive, more spiritual, you might have survived.” That’s the not-so-subtle message. This shifts the blame for a poor cancer prognosis directly to the individual, a punishment for their lack of positivity and “mental toughness”.
Ehrenreich, who before becoming a writer was educated in biology, reviews the available research, and finds that positive thoughts and positive emotions are completely disconnected from the biology of cancer cells. While some studies do support positivity’s role in warding off colds and some stress-related illnesses, there is no documented connection between positive thoughts and slowing the growth of tumors. Whatever the benefits of a positive attitude, it cannot cure cancer, and a patient’s negativity has never been proven medically to have been a determining factor in someone’s demise. It couldn’t be the poor medical treatment, the chemicals in the food you ate, or the toxic air in the workplace to blame for the illness, right? Those are external forces. It’s your fault, so quit whining and WIN!
History, she writes, has seen this inward blame game before. This country has a rich history based on Calvinist thinking that success or failure in life comes from either the openness to, or rejection of, sin. If things are not going well in your life, look into yourself and find the sinfulness that is holding you back. You cannot have success with the weakness of sin on your soul, and sin can be absolved through hard work and the elimination of any distractions. The Protestant work ethic drove great accomplishments in our country, to be sure, but it also encouraged those less fortunate to blame only themselves for any of life’s misfortunes.
The common thread between the Calvinist philosophy and the modern day positive thinking philosophy, Ehrenreich explains, is that blame for life’s difficulties rests squarely within yourself. It ignores, or seriously minimizes the impact of others, of societal structures, of circumstance. In this way, what is sold as an empowering philosophy (“you can control life”) becomes for many a fatalistic reality in which you are never good enough, but keep working within yourself and the outside world will bend magically.
Sound like ‘magically’ is too strong a word? One of the bestselling books of the last century was “Think and Grow Rich” by Clement Stone. His book was pedaled to a generation of entrepreneurs and salespeople, teaching that money could be “attracted” to you through positive thoughts. The book counsels the reader to pick a specific dollar figure, and fix that in their mind. This fixation will magically attract that sum to you, but only if you think about it all the time and remain confident in its attainment. Is this goal setting or hypnotic delusion? That depends on the reader, but the author states clearly that the only barrier between you and financial success is within your own mind and the attitudes you own. Failure, therefore, is yours and yours alone. Apparently, in this realm of Stepford salespeople, well-reasoned financial regulatory legislation is unnecessary and sound tax policy can never be “positive”.
Could your inability to achieve financial independent be influenced by the outside world? Should you dare say something negative about the way in which society and corporate America operates? Of course not, we learn quickly that naysayers need to be kept at arm’s length. Questioning these structures opens the door to negative thoughts, and it is negative thoughts that brought misery and misfortune. Besides, human resources is taught to terminate the employment of negative influencers in the workplace, because they drive down productivity!
Let’s say you can’t find a job. That’s tough. Stay upbeat, and you will. The backdrop in 2010 for your job search is this: Wages have been stagnant for the last 10 years. U.S. companies just finished their most profitable quarter ever - $1.659 trillion in profits. How did that happen in these difficult times? Increased productivity by workers – fewer workers working harder for the same or less money. We are trained, however, that looking behind the curtain to see what systemic issues might be contributing to the challenge of the job search is counter-productive. “Look inward, and be positive. Question us, and you are negative. Negative people are not welcome here.”
Ehrenreich worries that anyone within corporate mortgage brokerages who shouted warnings about the housing bubble was seen as “negative”, and exited from the organization, or at least marginalized as someone who doesn’t see the big picture, someone who can’t “get with the program”. Could we have used a few more negative voices in 2007? Within our political structure, it is Reagan’s “Morning in America” positivity that is the gold standard, while Jimmy Carter’s reflection of negativity is an example of self-fulfilling defeatism. Leaders should project positivity, but shouldn’t they also govern with a strong foundation in realism? The question that has to be asked is “If everyone who sounds the alarm bell or questions flawed decision-making is run out of our businesses and government for their bad attitudes, could we be left with a bunch of smiling appeasers, happy to get along spouting Successories’ platitudes and hiring life coaches for their compass?” Tough issues require tough questions and answers, and sometimes negativity is a necessary warning signal to others.
Ehrenreich reveals a liberal bias when she turns to attack corporate American for its embrace of positivity as a means of control of workers. (She also authored Nickel and Dimed, another book of hers I recommend, on the plight of the minimum wage underclass in America). Do you think that the promotion of “staying positive” and “eliminating negative people” isn’t a form of corporate mind control? Companies are spending billions on coaches and motivational speakers, all charged with upholding and improving morale, and corporate profits along the way. I clipped this excerpt below from www.workforce.com, and an article by Michelle V. Rafter titled “The Yawning of a New Era”:
“Some companies have figured out ways to keep employees’ spirits and energy up during down times. For example, Xonex Relocation, a New Castle, Delaware, relocation services company, says it realizes its employees are under added stress with many people making work-related moves… The company has mandated other stress reducers, including the “sunset rule.” Every day before quitting time, the company’s customer-service agents must phone clients with a move update, so there’s no unfinished business hanging over employees’ heads when they go home. The company sells the end-of-day check-in as a special feature for clients, but it’s really about giving employees’ peace of mind, Humphrey says. “I don’t want them going home and picking their kids up from soccer and thinking of the calls they didn’t make. It’s a very beloved thing here. Everyone commits to making those calls.”
So let me understand this: Companies have a vested interest in keeping “employees’ spirits and energy up during down times”. The solution is to demand more work (the end of day calls), packaged as “we’re doing this for your mental health”. Perhaps hiring more help would be a possible solution to the stress of overwork. Oops, was that a negative thought? I’m fired, with a “bad attitude” notation next to my name in my permanent personnel file.
This is a must-read book, however difficult the message is to hear and absorb. This should not be taken to mean that being positive isn’t a good thing. What I have taken away from this read is that we need to force balance back into the equation, and resist the overwhelming tilt towards nothing but blind, happy thoughts. We don’t want to live in a world of irrational fears and negative images in our minds. Conversely, we shouldn’t want to live in a world where all risks are hidden behind a blank smile and an unbending belief that “everything will turn out OK if we just will it to happen.” Besides, isn’t the real world where we should spend the majority of our time?
Barbara Ehrenreich is a curmudgeon and a cynic, alright, but I’m the type of guy who loves Larry David, and he would love this book, too. It’s easy to read, contains challenging ideas, and is highly recommended by me– four stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment