Aeon: Thinking positive is a surprisingly risky manoeuvre.
“Positive thinking impedes performance because it relaxes us and drains the energy we need to take action.” Um, there’s something wrong here. I was just doing a modified set of burpees yesterday (instead of just jumping up, I jumped up to do a full pullup, then back down for the pushup). I was only able to perform a handful. After five sets, my trainer said, “Let’s do three more than last time in the set.” I said, “No way.” He said, “You can do this. Big guy like you. Let’s go.” I steeled myself, muscles already screaming, and I did them. If he hadn’t have changed my mindset (which was already defeated), I’d never have done it.
Later: This is from a book, and it does reference Seligman’s “Learned Optimism” theories. So I won’t dismiss it as swiftly as I did above.