Positivity

(1.) The false idea that negative elements of life need to be edited or denied, for someone to be happy, successful, or even just okay. Instead of just accepting that life is full of everything: the wonderful, the terrible and everything in between.

(2.) A toxic leftover from a multi-billion dollar self- help industry.

(3.) The kind of willful ignorance and denial that inspired idioms such as, "Ostrich with its head in the sand" and "Elephant in the Room". A mental rationalization for ignoring or downplaying problems....instead of accurately assessing and fixing them.

(4.) Malignant hope for people and situations that are never going to change.

(5.) A favorite excuse/justification for those who emotionally police and manipulate others.
If you have to construct "positivity" out of the ether, and put it in places it clearly doesn't belong....it's probably bullshit. What's "positive" about lying to yourself?
by Olive989 January 06, 2022
mugGet the Positivitymug.

Talking Back

(1.) An asinine term said by fucked up authority figures, who think age should trump critical thinking, common sense, honest dialogue, or any sense of reasonableness.

There's a reason no adult accuses another adult of "talking back". It's as stupid as accusing a bird of chirping. If an adult wants to tell another adult they're being disrespectful, they use the term, "talking smack."

"Talking back" in contrast, is just the natural response anyone should expect, when they direct their words at another person. If someone does not wish to have a response to the things they are saying, furniture, inanimate objects, and non-human animals are available.

(2.) An adult example of regression, in which age is used as an excuse to not give an adult response, and instead basically tell someone to shut up.
Person A: Stop talking back to me sunny boy!

Person B: Okay. Your wish is my command. *executes 6 month vow of silence*
by Olive989 March 09, 2023
mugGet the Talking Backmug.

Story

(1.) A script in our heads that directs how we see ourselves, and in turn, how we perceive and interact with our world.

Everyone has a memory and an environment, but how we make sense of our experiences, and react to them, is unique. That's our story. That's our personal script.

(2.) A description of how something happened (or evolved), based on a particular point of view. This context includes biographies and major historical events, but also interpersonal accounts of every day events.

(I.E. "You'll never guess who I saw at the grocery store today Sara."...)

(3.) Fictional Writing that serves as a source of entertainment. And (many times) uses that entertainment wrapping, to speak truths in a more palatable way.

One example:

-The way Charles Dickens used the guise of entertainment to make English society care about the plight of children, (even among the wealthy elite, who wouldn't be caught dead reading a book on child labor, abuse or neglect.)

Charles Dickens Novels succeeded where impersonal statistics and pamphlet propaganda could not. Because he entertained people with his stories, didn't tell them what to think, and created tangible characters readers felt they knew and wanted to root for. This is how he made the plight of abused orphans and child factory workers compelling enough, people wanted to make it their problem.
Another example:

- The way Science Fiction shows in the U.S. (like the Twilight Zone) were able to broach political topics on TV, no one else could get away with at the time, thanks to some insane censorship laws....and no one taking fictional stories seriously. (Cold War Era).

If you want to open closed minds, avoid censorship, or speak truth to an oppressive government, hide your message in a fictional story.
by Olive989 March 10, 2023
mugGet the Storymug.

Thought

The burden of human consciousness.

Thoughts come in a whole universe of flavors. But most of the words that categorize thought end in either"tion" or "sion".

Some tion/sion examples:

Rumination, premeditation, hesitation, deliberation, consideration, obsession, contemplation, compulsion, conception, introspection, repression, categorization, recognition, reconfiguration, Memorization,

Other: Fantasize, daydream, equating, misconstrue,
Thought can be enjoyable if you've got something to do. Other times I wish I could shut the whole process off.
by Olive989 March 13, 2023
mugGet the Thoughtmug.

Resilience

(1.) Strength in the face of overwhelming odds. A byproduct of the belief that there is something better out there. Something worth hoping for...in this life or the next.

(2.) The ability to consider the motivations of other people, and not just the content of what they say or do (good or bad).
(1). Many people who lack resilience are not "weak". They are just lost. I know what it is to be lost.

(2). When insulted or flattered, many people get lost in their self-consciousness or only consider the content of what is said. Considering why people speak and act the way they do is far more important and shields you from a lot of harm and unwise decisions. This creates a form of resilience.
by Olive989 May 06, 2024
mugGet the Resiliencemug.

Intuition

In general, intuition means knowledge you have, that you are not consciously aware of. (It does not mean "feeling" or emotion.)

Most of the data your brain processes from your environment, is unconscious. But to be "intuitive" is to tap into this unconscious data particularly well.

Intuition can take several forms:

(1.) Intuition as flight/flight/instinct-

This is when your brain picks up on subtle environmental cues and rings an alarm bell like a lightning bolt of clarity, that something is about to go seriously wrong. It could be a person's micro-expressions or body language, a change to a structure or physical object, a combination of sounds...Or any number of things. But whatever it is, your unconscious mind recognizes it and is trying to save your ass.

(2.) Intuition as any kind of knowledge you have, you aren't consciously aware of.

A really intuitive person, could potentially watch a Kung Fu movie. Forget about it. Get in a fight. And only then realize they remembered a lot of the moves.

Another example would be hearing the show Jeopardy play in the background, because someone else is watching it. Maybe their mind is on their laundry and they're not really paying attention to the show. Nothing registers at the time. But a couple weeks later at college trivia night, they realize they have all these answers to random historical facts they didn't have before.
To tap into your intuition, is to tap into all of your brain's hidden resources.
by Olive989 March 04, 2023
mugGet the Intuitionmug.
A term for what motivates a keyboard warrior (or moral grandstanding in general.)

Morality or ethics isn't the point. Genuine concern for the issue they're talking about, isn't the point. And social status/clout, doesn't quite cover their motivations either. Because this is a very specific kind of affirmation seeking.

People who are righteous indignation junkies today, are basically like a modern representation of the Salem Witch Trial crew...They've just exchanged their pitch forks for keyboards, and stake kindle for declarations of hardline"wokeness".

Just as some hivemind Salem dipshits, got a dopamine/neuroepinephrine rush, burning people at the stake back in the day (because they thought their actions were on the side of the angels)...Today's righteous indignation junkies are motivated by a similar chemical cocktail.

It's just that torture and public executions aren't a common pastime anymore, so that thirst for blood had to get a post-modern rebranding. That's what today's insincere moral outrage essentially is. Blood thirstiness channelled into a more socially acceptable package.
Have you ever come across someone who appears to constantly jump on the bandwagon of angry editorial headlines, without really knowing or caring about the topic at hand? Do all their posts have a tone of righteous indignation? Do they never talk about things that might improve a social issue (or things that are currently being done)? Does it appear like critical thinking is a foreign country in their brain? And everything they say is motivated by wanting to feel righteously indignant?

That's a righteous indignation junkie.
by Olive989 March 25, 2023
mugGet the Righteous Indignation Junkiemug.