A powerful guide to owning our emotions—even the difficult ones—in order to show up authentically in the world, from the popular therapist behind the Instagram account @sitwithwhit. Every day, we’re bombarded with pressure to be positive. From “good vibes only” and “life is good” memes, to endless reminders to “look on the bright side,” we’re constantly told that the key to happiness is silencing negativity wherever it crops up—in ourselves and in others. Even when faced with illness, loss, breakups, and other challenges, there’s little space for talking about our real feelings—and processing them so that we can feel better and move forward. But if non-stop positivity is the answer, why are so many of us anxious, depressed, and burned out? In this refreshingly honest guide, sought-after therapist Whitney Goodman shares the latest research along with everyday examples and client stories that reveal how damaging toxic positivity is to ourselves and our relationships, and presents simple ways to experience and work through difficult emotions. The result is more authenticity, connection, and growth—and ultimately, a path to showing up as you truly are.

A psychologist explains how to create a richer, healthier, more fulfilling life through a process called the upward spiral that incorporates innovative techniques for using positivity to influence relationships, health, and work.

Harry Edelson’s mother was an illiterate Russian immigrant and his father left the family when Harry was an infant. His book begins this way: “I grew up in the poorest neighborhood in Brooklyn, which was the poorest neighborhood in New York City, and I was the poorest of the poor.” But the author makes it clear he never lamented his early circumstances: “I consider myself to be very lucky. I have been happy all my life even though I started out as poor as a child could be. . . . If you want to be happy, it is all in your mind. So take control of your senses, determine to be happy, and develop a frame of mind that will make you and all those around you happy.” In Positivity: How to Be Happier, Healthier, Smarter, and More Prosperous Mr. Edelson reveals his secrets and tips for success. As a person who enjoys excellent health and a wide range of knowledge, he established a successful Wall Street career in technology and investment banking and became the owner of a major business in capital investments.

140 quick and effective exercises to help you achieve and maintain a positive mindset and face any challenge with optimism and confidence—the newest in the popular My Pocket series. It can be hard to maintain a positive attitude—especially today, when the news and our social media feeds seem to be saturated in negativity and tragedy. But with My Pocket Positivity, you will find the good in any moment—and maintain an upbeat attitude through the day, no matter what life throws your way. My Pocket Positivity is full of uplifting thoughts to brighten your day and inspire hope. Through 140 quick and easy exercises, you will learn how to boost and strengthen feelings of confidence, resiliency, gratitude, and serenity. What’s more, you will feel empowered to take positive action in your own life and the world around you to pay the feeling forward.

The Science of Positivity teaches you how cynical thought habits are formed, and how you can rewire yourself to go beyond them.

Through a mix of nature, nurture, social conditioning and free will, we each possess a personalized lens that frames, forms, clouds and distorts the way we see ourselves and the world around us. In order to live in the most meaningful and effective way possible, each of us needs to continually assess and adjust the default frames we have developed.In Positivity Bias, we learn that life is essentially good; that positive perception is applicable and accessible to all; that it derives from objective, rational insight, not subjective, wishful imagination, and that positive living is a matter of choice, not circumstance.An inspiring and life-enriching tapestry woven from hundreds of stories, letter, anecdotes, and vignettes - Positivity Bias highlights how the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, considered the most influential rabbi in modern history, taught us to see ourselves, others, and the world around us.

For anyone who suffers more anxiety or sadness than is justified by healthy concern or normal grieving Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me is an adage we teach our children to insulate them from the cruel remarks of others. As adults, however, it’s often the words that arise spontaneously from within—the self-disparagements, disturbing recollections, and ominous forecasts—that cause us emotional pain and prevent us from living our fullest and most productive lives. The human brain has provided us with the technologies that allow us to dominate our planet, but it is also the source of much unnecessary emotional distress. Even when we have no good reason to be upset, our brains can spontaneously flood our minds with disturbing thoughts of past trauma or future disaster. Much of our unnecessary emotional distress occurs because our attention is involuntarily drawn to whatever most angers or frightens us, even when no immediate action is required and the risk is minimal. Our mood tends to be harmed much more by each negative thought than it is improved by each positive one. These two findings constitute what researchers call the negativity bias, and it’s one of the reasons we often struggle to attain peace of mind: that mental equilibrium in which we accept both ourselves and our circumstances, without experiencing distress about something from the past or that might happen in the future. By becoming more mindful of our thoughts, we can learn to recognize those that distress and impede us unnecessarily. We can then respond by identifying, and focusing on, more functional alternatives. Reviewing, discussing, rehearsing, and roleplaying functional self-talk can strengthen our ability to reshape both our mood and our self-image. This focused positivity strategy can serve as the foundation of our efforts to become more assertive, more relaxed, healthier, and more connected to the world around us. Focused Positivity presents a comprehensive and accessible approach to positive thinking, one that is independent of religious or political beliefs and consistent with what science has discovered about negativity bias, automatic behavior, the impact of self-talk on mood and behavior, habit change, and even the competition that occurs between the two hemispheres of our brains. Focused Positivity can provide us with an accessible strategy that anyone can employ to enhance both success and peace of mind.