The Negative Side of Positivity

So I understand people wanting to be "positive" and such, but all too often I find that it's becoming an excuse for denial and lack of responsibility for their actions. When faced with the consequences of their actions, they demand that the other person be positive or complain that other people are being "negative", and thereby they completely disassociate themselves as the causation in the equation. The fact that the other person responded naturally to their self-seeking behavior becomes the "problem", instead of the self-seeking behavior that actually caused it. Actions have consequences, and you cannot expect people to tolerate asinine behavior and still have healthy relationships. In the words of Ayn Rand — 'You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.'

There is a big difference between unrealistic forced optimism and real synergy. You cannot fix a problem if you ignore or deny that there is a problem.  And I find that those who perceive themselves as positive can't comprehend that they might possibly be the problem. But all too often they cause more problems than they solve. They become a smiling blockade to all real progress using platitudes to give the illusion of motion and support without ever getting their hands tainted with down and dirty reality.

Being positive and confident can be a boon to other skills, but it cannot supplant them. For real progress to be made, a person has to be able to tackle the full scope of a situation, including darker aspects that the "positive" would rather avoid. All too often the "positives" are more than happy to ride on the coat tails of those doing the actual work, and gathering credit to themselves.  However their methods are not as productive as they might think, and more damaging than they would like others to think.