Positive Thinking Or The Art Of Fooling Oneself?

Sujit Chandra Kumar has been working as an editor with leading publications for over three decades

- Sujit Chandra Kumar

As the Covid virus wreaked havoc, distributing death and debilitating the economies of countries, there was one unintended side effect. Those who peddled positive thinking and pop psychology found themselves exposed suddenly. Whatever they said or wrote sounded hollow, to say the least. Motivational gurus and godmen and women nearly went into a hiding.

Till then, if someone felt miserable, the traders of positive thinking were able to convince them that somehow, they were responsible for their situation and that they were worrying unnecessarily. 'Mere worrying is not going to help solve your problem, so stop worrying,' they advised and it seemed a smart thing to say. But not any longer. The guru or the counsellor could no longer ask their clients to come out of their shell' but had to observe social distancing themselves, as per government guidelines.