It usually starts with "Things are going great! Best times ever! Tons of traction! Gods are smiling upon us!" and ends on similar upbeat notes "Couldn't ask for more! Just tryin' to keep up!" You catch my drift... SPOOKY!
Now, I am all for enthusiasm, positivity, and faith even in the face of severest hardships. Every entrepreneur needs to have those elements as a part of their M.O. or sooner or later will give up entrepreneurship for at least a steady income (if not peace of mind). However, it is one thing to be positive, and completely another thing to lull yourself into thinking that things are positive by ignoring the negative.
The danger with Happy Talk is our mental predisposition towards what psychologists broadly label as cognitive dissonance, the tendency of our brains to interpret reality only in the way that fits our thoughts and attitudes about it. Confirmation bias is another name for it. There are literally thousands of experiments that support this point, and they are all actually quite fun to read. For example:
- An Ohio State study in 2009 showed people spend 36% more time reading an essay if that essay aligns with their opinions.
- Another study at Ohio State in 2009 showed subjects clips of “The Colbert Report,” and people who considered themselves politically conservative consistently reported “Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said."
So, next time you catch yourself engaging in such spooky activities, take a moment and reflect on whether your attitude really matches the data. That may save the day for you!
Happy Halloween!
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