"Researchers such as UCLA psychologist Shelley Taylor, Ph.D., have even cited such findings as evidence that a certain amount of self-delusion--basically, lying to yourself--is essential to good mental health..."
nothin' healthy about lying to yourself.
I think I might have recommended this book once before but I can't remember. Written by Julie K. Norem, called The Positive Power of Negative Thinking. What she's really advocating - Dr. Norem, that is - is simple realism. See what is, as it is, and make your decisions accordingly.
I'm more of a depressive type myself, and I can guarantee you that much of that depression comes from feeling, so often, as though I'm the only person in my family, at work, or at church, who's seeing things accurately. Who sees below the surface of things. Who is even willing to believe there's more than surface to most things... and that what's under there is often the most important stuff.
That sounds grandiose, and I wish it were. Problem is, time after time, I prognosticate, am disbelieved, and turn out to be 100% bang-on right. So-and-so's new boyfriend does end up being a drug abuser and winds up in jail. This'un, a too-good-to-be-true new manager who's 'all about ideas' turns out to be all-hat-no-cattle, sets up some totally bogus boondoggle project at work and then vanishes into a job at another company, leaving us to clean up after him... That'un, who's just a little tooooo friendly to the ladies IMO, ends up running off with the deacon's wife.
Unfortunately, this track record of mine doesn't seem to cause anyone to be any more inclined to listen to me the next time around. And no, I don't go waving it around, I don't push it at people, I don't 'toldyaso'. I answer when asked... But you'd think... eventually... one or two people would notice that I generally get it right.
I doubt that this is unique. And who, in this situation, wouldn't be depressed?
