Quote:
Originally Posted by JustAnUntakenName
I understand and appreciate the message though: "Think positive". I don't believe positive thinking can authentically fix anything because pretending to be happy solves nothing. Pretending to be happy doesn't actually make me happy and just causes me to suppress what is really happening at an emotional level, which in turn creates more complex problems a few months or years down the line.
However, maybe pretending like I'm happy will give me just enough fake energy to do something, and in doing something will lead to real energy that will enable me to actually do something. So, I will try and I will let you know how it goes.  |
It's not about "pretending to be happy". It's about knowing where your priorities are. If you can be only happy when you've achieved something or reached some goal, then the problem isn't that you're not achieving anything, it's that you can't be happy just with everyday life.
I can relate to that extremely well, because I've truly felt the same for the last four years. And it's taken me years to find out that my attitude towards achievement is what's causing my problems, not that I'm too lazy or stupid or something. It's the attitude of "only if I accomplish something in my life, I am worth something" that I meant when I said "malignant thought". And I didn't mean you to be malignant – it's this religion of "only successful people are worthy people" that so many people subscribe to (including me and you) that is malignant. It's a thought system that's poisoned my everyday life and how I see myself compared to others. It's caused me to have almost no self-esteem and not be able to be happy with anything anymore.
When I went into that mental facility, I went there with the thought "this will fix me, so I can finally be productive again". Now, I still have tons of problems. But at least I'm rid of the thought that there's no other way. That's a dead end.