RSA Animate - Smile or Die - RSA

RSA Animate - Smile or Die

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Acclaimed journalist, author and political activist Barbara Ehrenreich explores the darker side of positive thinking. View a video of her lecture at the RSA that inspired this animation. Download a transcript of this video (pdf)

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  • These are so consistently awesome,  It is a mind controlling program to make us smile even at times when things are all going wrong , 

  • I tend to agree with what she was saying. What I got out of that talk was that "Institutional" positivity can be, and often is, destructive. All the posts I have read on this talk have one thing in common; they are subjective accounts on how positivity has changed an individuals life.
    Now don't get me wrong, I am not a curmudgeon who looks at the glass half empty. In fact, two of the most influential peeple in my life are a therapist who practices "Positive Psychology" and a motivational speaker. What I have learned from them is that life is not a series of excuses to ride on like a wave. You have to dive head in to the truth and swim before you can surf.

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