If EVERYTHING is Amazing, then NOTHING is Amazing!
I remember, about 20 years ago, living near a middle school that used to distribute those "Student of the Month" bumper stickers to parents to parents whose kids were-- presumably-- "Student of the Month."
After a few years, it became a bit of a local joke because it seemed like every single kid in the neighborhood was "Student of the Month." Three or four times.
Accolades and Meaning
Whereas I have no doubt there some bright and deserving kids around, thinking back on those days got me to thinking about the whole "positive self esteem" movement and what it is doing to the world.
Joshua Tree, near Yucca Valley, CA
We live in a world that seems obsessed with "positivity." We're working positive self-esteem, we practice positive thinking, we have positive psychology, people practice positive focused intention... and on, and on.
More and more, I encounter extremely positive people... for whom everything and everyone seems "awesome!" and "amazing!" Whereas I can't fault having a positive outlook... there comes a point where a certain cognitive dissociation from reality sets in.
I'm sorry, but falling down the stairs and cracking my skull open is not "awesome!" And that guy who robbed me at knife point is not "amazing!" even IF he did rescue his brother from drowning before he turned into a psychotic meth head.
Devaluing True Excellence
Desert flowers near Yucca Valley, CA
There's an interesting conundrum here.
I fully believe the whole positivity thing was created with good intent, and a genuine desire to make the world a better place.
Alas, when you re-label something "pretty average" as "brilliant," you might make some Average Joe feel better for a moment, but you've also just devalued the meaning of true brilliance. And by no longer recognizing just a few for their "excellence," the benchmark for excellence keeps getting reduced by a few notches.
And then we sit around wondering why the world seems increasingly mediocre.
Student of the Month Meets Real Life
Sunset on an evening with forest fires
As parents, I know we all want the best for our children... which is only natural. But artificially inflating the scope someone's abilities helps noone. Because there will come a day when your kid's artificially inflated sense of self will come face to face with a world that truly isn't kind or sensitive... and reality will set in. The real world does not generally take kindly to "C-" performance masquerading as an "A" student.
Short version: The sudden shattering of that inflated false image will hurt far more than gradually learning some real (and realistic) life skills over a period of time.
Don't believe me: Watch what happens to people who go on shows like "American Idol" and "The Voice" because they've had an army of "yes-people" tell them how "awesome" they are... and yet, they can't sing their way out of a bag.
Reality Inflation Leads to Dumbing Down
As of late, I have been reading quite a few articles about what seems to be a general "dumbing down" of the world. I can't help but think that this excessive positivity might be part of the problem.
If we start living in a world where everyone is led to believe they are "amazing," then-- effectively-- nobody ends up being truly "amazing," since amazing is average. And, what's more... TRULY putting in an amazing performance loses its meaning, because there's no way to distinguish it from the average-amazing.
What do YOU think? Have you noticed a societal tendency to "over positivize" people and skills? Do you think it devalues the work and talent behind true excellence when we start calling everything "excellent," mostly out of fear that someone might feel "left out?" I know this can be a "sensitive" subject for some, but I'd love to hear your opinion! Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- join the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20170702 14:23 PDT
I completely agree!
Well, the thing is that we rarely criticize any longer. That might not entirely be a bad thing, but it makes it more difficult for people to improve since no one tells them what he should be doing better.
I like feeling awesome all the time, but reality is ruthless and realizing I am not that awesome at all, hurts. The "reality" feedback might not be directly telling you what you did wrong, but you will soon realize your shortcomings when taking the results into account.
I believe a self realization of "I do not know it all and I have much to learn" is the best strategy to cope with the reality feedback.
Exactly @ronni. I'm sure you're familiar with an old truism that goes something like "True wisdom happens in the moment you realize that you actually know very little."
Seems to me that we (meaning human cultures) lost our way; instead of working on our actual personal betterment, someone got the idea that it's a "shortcut" that if we can just make people feel better then we can skip the actual work. Unfortunately... just because we keep telling ourselves that a 50kg box is "not heavy" doesn't change the fact that the box still weighs 50kg; but instead of being prepared for a heavy box, now its weight is suddenly "an ugly surprise."
Ronni's reply says what I had on my mind about this.
I'd like to add, that I think there is not a lot you can do about it. Only being honest yourself.
I believe it has a lot to do with group think also. To name a real life example.
I saw a post in which was shown a beech tree, and the hull's of the nuts of the beech, and the leaves of the beech. But the author, probably mistakenly, had written the text that it was an oak with hulls of an acorn and leaves of an oak and so on. Every reply was, that they liked the post. It makes me wonder, did those people really not know that it was a beech instead of an oak?
I made a reply in which I, as secretly as possible, let the author know it was an oak.
I see more post from which I really wonder if it's is just a true lack of knowledge of all the replying people. Or that it is that no one wants to say something. It is hard to say.
If I make a mistake in my post I rather have a reply of someone telling me, where I made a mayor mistake. Of course not every small typo, but even if someone would point out a typo, that would help me become better.
Edit; This is just a small aspect, and I could write a much longer reply on various perspectives on this, but I think it would be to long and I might even be advocate for two contradicting perspectives in the end. lol. To name one complicated subject, art ;)
I understand @wordsword-- sometimes it's easy to get to the point of writing an entire essay in response to a post. Which actually makes me happy, because it means there was something there worth thinking about.
When it comes to posts (or blogs, and articles) a lot of responses also tell me that people didn't actually READ what was there... they just reacted to the title and started writing our their opinion... whether right or wrong.
Some weeks (months?) back, I wrote a piece about being a skeptic, and how it often can get you labeled as a "downer" or "buzzkill." Not agreeing with a majority view... AND having evidence to back it up... can often get you into a tricky spot... for many people it can be more important to "BE" right than whether something "IS" (factually) right.
Things like art, music, creative expression become really tricky areas because then you also have to deal with people's "ego investment" in their creations. Someone (evidently) puts their heart and soul into something that looks to ME like my dog vomited on a piece of paper... and everyone is calling it "artistic genius." At BEST my feedback would be "That's certainly very unusual, and quite unlike anything I've ever seen before." Which is certainly truthful.
Sorry, I just stop by. I just tired so I stop only to give my upvote for your original works. (ussually I read your posting). I still pondering what is my purpose to write and not merely only to get reward (reward also important but not everything). Nice post always! :)
Thanks for coming by, and for your support!
been saying this for a DECADE!
It's like saying I love you too much!
Yes, indeed... and overuse doesn't make something more true.