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Not true. In cases where events are actually negative, an accurately negative view is far better than an inaccurate positive view.
For instance, if I wake up to discover that my house is on fire, I'm going to be much happier in the long run if I think "MY HOUSE IS ON FIRE!" and evacuate, as opposed to shifting my beliefs to a positive viewpoint where I tell myself everything's fine and then I go back to bed and I get third degree burns.
I was raised in a culture of "pretend everything's fine". IT DID NOT GO WELL FOR ME.
Mmmm ok. If your house is on fire then get out of the house. Once you're safe, don't wallow in sadness and self pity and beat yourself up because your house burned down, even if it was because you left your oven on. Acknowledge that it was your fault but that you didn't mean to do it, forgive yourself and move on, believing that you won't make such a mistake in the future. My whole point is that even when bad things happen to you, you can choose to view the events in any light you want. You can empower yourself by making it a positive learning experience, or you can disempower yourself and wallow in misery by telling yourself you're a victim of terrible tragedies. This is your choice, the former leads to greater happiness and satisfaction and the latter leads to self pity and doubt.
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