The Sins of Positive Thinkers

I’m not alone as someone who— in search of spiritual growth— walked away from organized religion. The sermons repeated in my church seemed tired and not terribly relevant to me (though, in fairness, I stopped going at age 16). Words like lord and salvation seemed to be used as givens, above inquiry. I got in to positive… Continue reading The Sins of Positive Thinkers

Positive Affirmations, Power or Peril?

Psychologist Joanne Wood’s study Positive Self-Statements: Power for Some, Peril for Others got a brief write up over at intentblog.I first heard of this study via Oliver Burkman’s article, The Power of Negative Thinking. Burkeman casts doubt on the merits of positive affirmations by quoting the study, “such statements make people with low self-esteem feel worse”. Maggie… Continue reading Positive Affirmations, Power or Peril?

Why Am I Bothered By Him?

Once, a co-worker told a customer our ISP was down “for more than 24 hours” (it wasn’t). Untrue statements are a pet peeve of mine. So I vented with another co-worker, saying I knew “for a fact” that our ISP was down for less than 8 hours, and a conversation ensued as to whether his… Continue reading Why Am I Bothered By Him?