I am Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits.
When building a profitable practice, it’s important to be aware of your mindset. Are you being overly positive? If you see a one-gallon jug containing half a gallon of water, how do you view it? Is it half full or half empty? The answer to that question is used in the most basic psychological tests to reveal how you look at the world. The person that sees the gallon container is halfway to being full, is supposedly a positive thinker. The opposite is true for the person who believes the container to be half empty. Your opinion could be different depending on your attitude, recent experiences and in several other variables. Even so it suggests the question of positive thinking versus a more negative outlook.
Most people will tell you positive thinking is the way to go and is the path to success. Think positively always and the world will bend to your will. While a lot of good things come from a positive attitude, totally embracing positivity even when life is difficult isn’t always the best choice. You might suffer from toxic positivity.
If you believe you should act positively, no matter how dire, dangerous or demanding your current experience is, here are a few signs that your mental well-being and other aspects of your life are negatively impacted by your rosy disposition:
You ignore your problems
Think positive and positive things will happen to you. This is the advice of so many self-help gurus. They encourage you to never give in to negative emotions. The problem with this way of thinking is it doesn’t allow you to solve the many problems that will pop up in your life. Ignoring negative experiences doesn’t make them go away. You must deal with them, learn from them and move past them. Closing your eyes and thinking positively in the face of a hungry charging lion probably won’t lead to the best outcome.
You develop guilt and self-resentment
Toxic positivity doesn’t allow you to recognize the full scope of human emotions. You realize you’re sad about something, so you immediately chastise yourself. You’re disappointed about something and immediately feel guilty for those negative feelings. You can never be your truest and most fulfilled self without embracing the reality of your emotions and becoming stronger by working through them.
You minimize and downplay the feelings of others
You’re constantly positive attitude makes you feel uncomfortable around people experiencing negative emotions. No one wants to spend time around somebody who downplays their feelings. You disguise how you really feel. Putting on a false face makes you a lie to the world. It also lets debilitating stress build up instead of letting it out by processing less than favorable emotions.
There are a lot of signs that toxic positivity is present. Sometimes we act that way to ourselves and sometimes to others. It’s often unintentional. Even when it’s not a purposeful action, it can be so damaging. Keep your eyes open for the signs of toxic positivity we just covered. Whether you see them in yourself or others, try to change that way of thinking or simply remove yourself from the situation.
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Minimizing the feelings of others may be due to a lack of empathy. Check out our blog post here for a few exercises to build empathy.
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I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. Please go to businessofrehab.com/guide to pick up the free guide to help you determine the best business entity for your new practice
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Attention, Physiatrists! Stop leaving money on the table. Sign up for the free video series: How To Build A Profitable Practice in 90 Days or Less: http://www.sixtytosuccess.com
