Toxic Positivity: How My Dash of Negativity Made Me a Happier Person

Turns out, feeling your full range of emotions – even the icky ones – is the key to a more authentic, fulfilling life.

Illustration created with Midjourney

Remember that time your boss dumped a massive project on you last minute, and your coworker chirped, "It’ll be a great opportunity!"? Yeah, I wanted to chuck something. See, we live in a world obsessed with toxic positivity.

Don’t get me wrong, a good attitude is powerful, but there’s a tipping point where it becomes denial.

For years, I was the poster child for this. Smile plastered on, no matter how stressed I was. People called me "always so cheerful," which I thought was a compliment. Deep down, though, I was bottling up a whole mess of emotions – frustration, resentment, plain old exhaustion.

Then came the meltdown. Nothing epic, just a snappy outburst at my family over a minor thing. It startled everyone, including me. That’s when I realized my forced optimism was doing more harm than good.

See, pretending everything’s always rainbows and sunshine sets us up for failure. When we deny our 'negative' emotions, they don’t magically vanish. They fester, sneak out in…