-Think positive!
-I’m positive, we’re all going to die!

Being something of a cynic I generally decry most attempts at “self-help” publications as being either unnecessary (generic, obvious platitudes) or unhelpful (not actually applicable to the reader’s individual circumstances). Even when working in a library I felt uneasy around those sections. I also dislike the concept that one should never be unhappy. Things in life do go wrong and sadness is a perfectly natural, often cathartic response. However allowing oneself to dwell on the negatives and spiral into something worse is entirely within one’s own control. In the end it is your own outlook that controls your mood and not the world around you. Most people find the rain depressing and with the accompanying lack of sunshine (at least in England) there is a genuine biological explanation for that. Yet I quite enjoy the freedom of wandering outside without the crowds of people that usual hinder any stroll in the City. Since I expect to get wet, that is hardly a concern.

The reason I mention this is that I recently stumbled upon The Positivity Blog. I would hardly describe it as life changing, and indeed most of its ideas are concepts I have gradually learned through experience over the past four years or so. Nevertheless, it’s still worth being reminded on a regular basis. Significantly less saccharine than I had expected and nothing so crass as a daily affirmation, its posts tend to be written in the form of lists, often based on the tenets of famous figures like Bruce Lee, Mark Twain and Gandhi.