What Happens If You Force Positive Thinking?

I challenged myself to think only positive thoughts for 72 hours to see how it would affect me. Would this make me genuinely happier or is this a terrible idea?

There seem to be different opinions on positivity and positive thinking in general. Some say it's the key to more success, happiness, fulfillment, and health. Others say that our society has gone too far and toxic positivity can be detrimental to our mental health.

Here's what I found...

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[mech_electro]

The constant "I feel great" when in reality he felt horrible almost made me cry in laughter

[SlothLinn]

I suffered from severe depression, and one of the greatest things that helped was changing my thought patterns. I was incapable of thinking a single positive thought about myself, and even attempting it would make me angrier, and my self hatred would grow. However, I decided that I would no longer allow myself to think negative about myself. This is the single most difficult thing I have ever done, and this is when I fully realized just how insanely negative I had become. I could stare blankly at wall and find a negative trait about myself... I could hug a dog, and find something negative about myself... I had to live like a mindless robot for a long time before I started normalizing, but it's the most powerful tool I have ever used. I can safely say that in my case, it was a major contributor to why I'm still alive today. And as I have kept up the habit of stopping repeat negativity concerning myself, and reminding me to appreciate myself, this habit has helped me stay happy and mentally healthy for over a decade now <3

[michaeldstern]

Problem is, if you don’t acknowledge your real emotions and do this “avoidance” technique, it backfires!

[Leeeg]

7:00 is a big reason most with ADHD suffer from anxiety & depression. In order to get things done we may develop constant negative thoughts and stress that get things done, but severely hurt us mentally.

[rediscoveryoursource]

I watched "I Spent $50, 000 on Fake Guru's" then came to your channel and watched "How I made $650, 000 by age 22" and this is the third video in a row. GREAT content! Looking forward to watching your channel explode!

[DarkworldLP]

What you call the effective tent is for me the realistic optimism. Stay near the reality but also try to see things in a good way even when things are bad and acknowledging also the bad feelings sometimes is essentials. It's just important not to stay too long in a low frequency and try to think positive again and clear, focus on solutions not on the problems itsef. But first you need too know obviously what the problem really is. ;)

[thegamingslav]

Damn it Leon. Was just driving to work and man the Thomas Edison part got me almost crying. I’m under a lot of pressure right now but actively implementing this mindset that I think is crucial to feeling “invincible”. I stopped the car to write this comment. I listened to the past part 5 times now. It’s amazing how you can be vulnerable like this and set an example of how people should think. Thanks, this is value like no other.

[vlddy]

The power of "right now" is incredible. "Things suck... Right now" "I can't do this... Right now" it acknowledges the feeling but makes it temporary instead of persistent. It's one of the first steps to learning how to acknowledge the positive. Daily gratitudes also train that muscle. You need to acknowledge bad things, validate yourself, understand risks, but especially with depression you're keyed into the negative and need to train yourself to notice positive things and reduce negative self talk or you'll crush yourself. I think this video pretty much demonstrates that lol.

Without even knowing it, you used DBT skills! I think everyone should learn this. Check the facts, pros and cons, wise mind, mindfulness, you're a pro lol. Also, in my experience, a lot of realists are just like how you described yourself; they're really pessimists but maybe they don't want to acknowledge they are because they're so afraid of being let down. I think truly being a realist is impossible because we always have bias and human nature keys us towards negative thinking for survival. But optimism isn't about toxic positivity and if it gets to that point you're causing as much damage as pessimism. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and try to see your good qualities and the good qualities of life because you ain't got time for the bad. If something is bad, try to fix it, acknowledge it, let it exist, but don't let it control you. As someone with depression I can say, this is fucking difficult.... Right now. ;)

[Littlemisssunshine]

It’s okay to be not okay, don’t force, don’t resist, just accept things the way they are. Acceptance is the key!

[positivel]

Loved this ! Acknowledging the negative, separating from that thought and reframing, choosing the positive thought is often harder, especially if your default is negative, it’s something you have to do continually as well, yes you will notice changes after some time as you reprogram your mind, but the defaults kick back in if you let them.

[shigento]

I've been through this and agree with everything in this video. I was a perfectionist that would only see the bad side of any outcome, which is a terrible way to get anywhere near perfection, you have to notice both good and bad in your efforts, by ignoring the progress you will get unmotivated and then never finish or achieve anything.

Look for both positive and negative perspectives in your results, the positives will motivate you and the negatives will tell you what has to be improved.

[DiscoverConnection]

Great video Leon, the way you talked about this topic kept me engaged the entire time!

[CFH]

I did this all of last week and it’s mentally exhausting. It does help to be positive but it’s like exercise, you need to take a break every now and then (being neutral) if you are forcing it or reprogramming your brain to be fully positive.

[Zeddex]

Being optimistic and positive is something I really need to work on. I'm going to try this 😁

[caralho]

The thing about negativity is that it makes things predictable
"no matter what i do my life will remain shit" vs "if i do things right i can be happy"

[smittywerbenjaggermanjensen]

Key is and always will be balance. Its okay to feel down, but one should keep an optimistic view on life on general.

[VVesteria]

I don’t know about other people but every time I forced a smile, I ended up crying. I stopped faking emotions since because I don’t want to have a public breakdown, that would be too embarrassing.

[nathanmorton]

yes dude. I read a book recently called "self-compassion" by kristin neff, would highly recommend. It's basically about this exact concept of perspective, and being kind and compassionate to yourself and your emotions, regardless of what they are while also being mindful and not allowing your negative thoughts to absorb you. Because that's all they are; thoughts. love this video. love you

[artistic_chips]

DBT skill : half-smile and why it's problematic!! Faking a smile, makes you feel like you're hiding your true self and burying your emotions and often times more than not leads to numbness and causes longer-lasting issues with self-esteem. this video deserves a round of applause as it perfectly shows that point. /genuine positive feedback

[SwiftKraft]

Thanks man, you helped me realize that I am actually a pessimist as well, it’s cool and weird to feel connected with a stranger on the internet, but I’m glad that I came across this video.