Against positive thinking

The NYT Review section is really good today. The piece by Oliver Burkeman against all forms of “positive thinking” is pretty sweet. He leads with an anecdote about the 21 people who were burned last month in a coal-walking exercise at a Tony Robbins event. Read the whole piece, but here’s the kicker:

Mr. Robbins reportedly encourages firewalkers to think of the hot coals as “cool moss.” Here’s a better idea: think of them as hot coals. And as a San Jose fire captain, himself a wise philosopher, told The Mercury News: “We discourage people from walking over hot coals.”