Unpopular Opinion: We Need More Positivity, Not Less
"Toxic positivity" became one of those phrases that started appearing everywhere. Someone shares a difficult experience, and suddenly there's a warning not to be "toxically positive." Someone suggests looking on the bright side, and they're accused of dismissing real emotions. Someone talks about gratitude, resilience, or optimism, and there's often a reminder that "it's okay to be sad too." And here's the thing: I agree that it's okay to be sad. I agree that difficult emotions shouldn't be ignored, or brushed aside with a cheerful quote and a smiley face. But I also don't entirely agree with how the idea of toxic positivity is sometimes used. W e've become so focused on validating negative emotions that we've started treating positivity itself with suspicion. Being Positive Doesn't Mean Pretending Everything Is Fine When life falls apart, positivity isn't pretending nothing happened. It's acknowled...
