--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The cult of positivity we have does…" description: "\"“The cult of positivity we have does everyone a disservice. It leads us to believe we’re more in charge of the world than we are, and holds us responsi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/megan-devine-36228_cult_the-cult-of-positivity-we-have-does-ever_2709623.jpg" --- # The cult of positivity we have does everyone a disservice… ![“The cult of positivity we have does everyone a disservice. It leads us to believe we’re more in charge of the world than we are, and holds us responsible for every pain and heartbreak we endure. It sets up a one-false-move world, in which we must be careful not to upset the gods, or karma, or our…” quote by Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/megan-devine-36228_cult_the-cult-of-positivity-we-have-does-ever_2709623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/megan-devine-36228_cult_the-cult-of-positivity-we-have-does-ever_2709623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/megan-devine-36228_cult_the-cult-of-positivity-we-have-does-ever_2709623.jpg) > ““The cult of positivity we have does everyone a disservice. It leads us to believe we’re more in charge of the world than we are, and holds us responsible for every pain and heartbreak we endure. It sets up a one-false-move world, in which we must be careful not to upset the gods, or karma, or our bodies with our thoughts and intentions.”” [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive positivity can blame individuals for suffering, ignoring systemic factors. **In simple terms:** Positivity can misplace blame. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of personal control. Themes psychology positivity blame systemic well‑being Mood empathetic critical Type reflective cautionary When to use this quote - therapy sessions - self‑reflection - public discourse Key Concepts cognitive bias emotional health social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - When does positivity become harmful? - How to balance optimism with realism? A Different Perspective Optimism can be dismissive of real pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) [Positivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positivity/) ## Related quotes > [Are we our bodies? Is a small person less than a big person, then? 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Hippolite > [Our destiny is to become what we think, to have our thoughts become our bodies and our bodies become our thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-destiny-is-to-become-what-we-think-to-have-our-thoughts-become/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [To me the girls that have felt the most pain and heartbreak are beyond beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lee-riner/to-me-the-girls-that-have-felt-the-most-pain-and-heartbreak-are/) [Justin Lee Riner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lee-riner/) > [“This man was her captor, yet he freed her soul; he’d caused her agony, yet also delivered peace; every touch was euphoric pleasure, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-eugene/this-man-was-her-captor-yet-he-freed-her-soul-he-d-caused-her-agony/) [Lisa Eugene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-eugene/) > [You think your pain and heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world.But then, you read.It was books that taught me that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/you-think-your-pain-and-heartbreak-are-unprecedented-in-the-history/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [I really wish Hollywood would stop labeling movies, especially movies with predominantly black casts. Then, it makes others feel like, "Oh, well, that's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taraji-p-henson/i-really-wish-hollywood-would-stop-labeling-movies-especially-movies/) [Taraji P. Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taraji-p-henson/) > [Time heals everything. Sometimes you have to go through that pain and heartbreak so that you can get to the other side and come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-aguilera/time-heals-everything-sometimes-you-have-to-go-through-that-pain-and/) [Christina Aguilera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-aguilera/) > [“/When/ the piano falls, not /if/. Oh, Alyssa. What a way to live. With potential pain and heartbreak lurking around every corner. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-brockmann/when-the-piano-falls-not-if-oh-alyssa-what-a-way-to-live-with/) [Suzanne Brockmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-brockmann/) > [Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-immigrants-do-not-talk-about-what-they-endured-back-home-they/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [Cults use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/cults-use-our-vocabulary-but-they-don-t-use-our-dictionary/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [he cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-popova/he-cult-of-productivity-has-its-place-but-worshipping-at-its-altar/) [Maria Popova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-popova/) > [“Religion, like science, is only noteworthy when it emphasizes a matter of what is true rather than whose belief is greater or lesser or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/religion-like-science-is-only-noteworthy-when-it-emphasizes-a-matter/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) ## More by Megan Devine > [“There is not a reason for everything. Not every loss can be transformed into something useful. Things happen that do not have a silver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/there-is-not-a-reason-for-everything-not-every-loss-can-be/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“Every loss is valid. And every loss is not the same. You can't flatten the landscape of grief and say that everything is equal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/every-loss-is-valid-and-every-loss-is-not-the-same-you-can-t-flatten/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“The reality of grief is far different from what others see from the outside. There is pain in this world that you can't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/the-reality-of-grief-is-far-different-from-what-others-see-from-the/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“True comfort in grief is in acknowledging the pain, not in trying to make it go away. Companionship, not correction, is the way forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/true-comfort-in-grief-is-in-acknowledging-the-pain-not-in-trying-to/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“We need to know how to live here, where life as we know it can change, forever at anytime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/we-need-to-know-how-to-live-here-where-life-as-we-know-it-can-change/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“Acknowledgment--being seen and heard and witnessed inside the truth about one's own life--is the only real medicine of grief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/acknowledgment-being-seen-and-heard-and-witnessed-inside-the-truth/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“We have to start telling the truth about this kind of pain-grief , loss, love .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/we-have-to-start-telling-the-truth-about-this-kind-of-pain-grief-loss/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“What we all share in common - the real reason for this book - is a desire to love better. To love ourselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/what-we-all-share-in-common-the-real-reason-for-this-book-is-a-desire/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“When you try to take someone's pain away from them, you don't make it better. You just tell them it's not OK to talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/when-you-try-to-take-someone-s-pain-away-from-them-you-don-t-make-it/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“Some things cannot be fixed; they can only be carried. Grief like yours, love like yours, can only be carried. Survival in grief, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/some-things-cannot-be-fixed-they-can-only-be-carried-grief-like-yours/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“Some things cannot be fixed. They can only be carried.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/some-things-cannot-be-fixed-they-can-only-be-carried/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) > [“We need to talk about the hierarchy of grief. You hear it all the time—no grief is worse than any other. I don’t think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-devine/we-need-to-talk-about-the-hierarchy-of-grief-you-hear-it-all-the-time/) [Megan Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) [Explore all 13 Megan Devine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-devine/) ## More Cult quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [“Religion, like science, is only noteworthy when it emphasizes a matter of what is true rather than whose belief is greater or lesser or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/religion-like-science-is-only-noteworthy-when-it-emphasizes-a-matter/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [he cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-popova/he-cult-of-productivity-has-its-place-but-worshipping-at-its-altar/) [Maria Popova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-popova/) > [Cults use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/cults-use-our-vocabulary-but-they-don-t-use-our-dictionary/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [“Koch believed that what the famed economist Joseph Schumpeter called "creative destruction" was so critical to the health of the capitalist system that empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/koch-believed-that-what-the-famed-economist-joseph-schumpeter-called/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) > [I really hate those Internet freaks who take each thirty minute bundle of joy and turn it into a cult game of Where's Wally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/i-really-hate-those-internet-freaks-who-take-each-thirty-minute/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [I didn't read about it for school. It was just for myself. I was interested in cults in general but Jonestown was the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danzy-senna/i-didn-t-read-about-it-for-school-it-was-just-for-myself-i-was/) [Danzy Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danzy-senna/) > [The star system, the idol, the cult of personality is not the only way to be in entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/the-star-system-the-idol-the-cult-of-personality-is-not-the-only-way/) [Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/) > [“since she would never have practised the cult of these things, she would take no impious delight in their profanation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/since-she-would-never-have-practised-the-cult-of-these-things-she/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I don't think it takes much for a cult to be a cult. Many parts of our society are cultish, and you only need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-flynn/i-don-t-think-it-takes-much-for-a-cult-to-be-a-cult-many-parts-of-our/) [Jerome Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-flynn/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Once I knew what I was doing I was there and with it; I had the total knowing. I Googled God and orgasmed At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/initially-no/once-i-knew-what-i-was-doing-i-was-there-and-with-it-i-had-the-total/) Initially NO > [“Ms Brennan is telling the very few people who attended an educational event: "You are warriors against the cult of stupidity that is taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/ms-brennan-is-telling-the-very-few-people-who-attended-an-educational/) [Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/) > [Hinduism... gave itself no name, because it set itself no sectarian limits; it claimed no universal adhesion, asserted no sole infallible dogma, set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/hinduism-gave-itself-no-name-because-it-set-itself-no-sectarian/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) [Browse all 750 Cult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The cult of positivity we have does everyone a disservice. 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