(January 27, 2017 at 9:11 am)Tonus Wrote:(January 27, 2017 at 8:58 am)Vic Wrote: Basically, the tyranny of happiness is the phenomenon of 'just be positive', 'think positively' etc. It's the extensively misguided mentality of 'if you stay positive, everything will turn out ok'.
The problem is that it is being stated as an absolute: "if you do A, you always get B." In other words, the premise is making a promise it can't keep.
That is one part of the problem. The other part is that it implies that if you don't get B, you're doing something wrong in life or something is wrong with you. It puts the person at fault for their own misery, which is not always the case, and it demonizes negative feelings, which are necessary in a healthy emotional life.
As I said, this isn't to say that looking for positives in life or striving to be happier or to make one's life better is wrong. Just that this type of thinking is sure to do the opposite.
