One of my usual blog stops Lifehacker has a post on research that indicates that positive self talk can actually lead to lower self esteem, which, if confirmed, threatens the vast majority of the self-help publishing industry.
The mention points to this piece at Time, which says: “A study (The Link requires a special log in to read, a practice this blog takes an editorial stance against.) just published in the journal Psychological Science says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.”
In reference to this, anyone with a 1990s memory or popular American TV will have to recall one of Al Franken’s better characters from Saturday Night Live, Stuart Smalley, the self-affirmation obsessed 12-stepper who invariably ended up hating himself at some point in each skit.
The study, Positive Self-Statements: Power for Some, Peril for Others has gone on to be widely reported. Read the rest of this entry »