In this episode we challenge the cultural concept of positivity. Meaning our propensity to take a hard circumstance, event, and feeling, and simply spray painting positivity over it. We aren’t making a case for being negative at all, but rather, to accept the hard feelings we encounter, consider them with understanding, and then yes, ultimately move past with greater insight and wisdom to ultimately seek a beneficial outcome. My guest is Whitney Goodman, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who has taken on our concept of positivity and has an instagram following of well over half a million followers who are finding great help from her guidance and encouragement that life is well worth living, but treating it as a continual self-improvement project and bypassing our true feelings doesn’t leave room for a full, quality life. I brought Whitney on the show because I’m a staunch believer in positivity. Zig Ziglar’s famous quote, “Positive thinking won't let you do anything, but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will,” and I believe this. But to jump from a negative experience and right to positive thinking robs us from the growth, learning, and peace we find in between. Whitney has taken her years of work as a therapist studying cultural positivity and now written the book, “TOXIC POSITIVITY: KEEPING IT REAL IN A WORLD OBSESSED WITH BEING HAPPY.” The book is a great dive into how we’ve distorted the concept of positivity, and how we can better handle the hard things in life and ultimately acknowledge them, but not be overwhelmed and controlled by them. Find Whitney Goodman at www.sitwithwhit.com. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally . Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your...true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices