EP 387: Context Clues: Is there hope beyond positive thinking?

Vibe check: does positive thinking get in the way of recognizing real limitations and structural challenges?

Show Notes

“Positive thinking” comes in many forms: New Thought, the prosperity gospel, manifestation teaching, self-help guides, and more. It’s hard to argue with thinking positive thoughts! But when positive thoughts become a substitute for curiosity and inquiry about real challenges, positive thinking can lead us away from real solutions. In this episode, I explore my own encounters with the world of positive thinking and how facing reality has actually given me more hope.
 
 Footnotes:

• More about Mary Baker Eddy
• More about Ernest Holmes and The Science of Mind
• More about Norman Vincent Peale* The Power of Positive Thinking
• Mary Kay Ash on YouTube
• Confidence Culture by Shani Orgad and Rosalind Gill
• Rhonda Byrne on YouTube
• “Farm-To-Table: Reciprocity in Every Seam” (Christy Dawn ad)
• “Manifestation, eugenics, and flower oil” by Meg Conley
• Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
• At The Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Bakewell
• Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit

 
 Essay versions of each episode are available at explorewhatworks.com each Thursday. Get them delivered straight to you by signing up at explorewhatworks.com/weekly

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Work is central to the human experience. It helps us shape our identities, care for those we love, and contribute to our communities. Work can be a source of power and a catalyst for change. Unfortunately, that's not how most of us experience work—even those who work for themselves. Our labor and creative spirit are used to enrich others and maintain the status quo. It's time for an intervention. What Works is a show about rethinking work, business, and leadership for the 21st-century economy. Host Tara McMullin covers money, management, culture, media, philosophy, and more to figure out what's working (and what's not) today. Tara offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to deep-dive analysis of how we work and how work shapes us.