I recently found a great set of videos by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). The RSA is a UK institute with a long, impressive history. As far as I can tell, its main purpose is collaborating efforts in social research, policy development and effecting real, positive social change. Not just a think-tank.

The RSA videos are very engaging, especially a group under the banner of RSA Animate. Instead of watching a person for 10 minutes, you are drawn into the content through a cartoon developed in parallel with the talk.

The one below is a presentation by Barbara Ehrenreich, author of “Nickel and Dimed”. It’s about unrealistic positivity (“keeping up appearances” in my parlance).

Much of the video is about the corporate workplace, where expressing pessimism can be a death knell. I know this from personal experience. My corporate career swung up and down in line with my moods. A long spell of unbridled, hypomanic optimism saw me climb the ladder with frightening speed. When the crash came I was immediately out of step with corporate culture and my shelf life was curtailed. Then new job, rinse and repeat.

To my way of thinking, reciting affirmations is a close cousin to unrealistic, unquestioning optimism. Barbara Ehrenreich touches on this in the video. I’ve tried affirmations many times, and given up just as many. Do affirmations change your world?

Depressed folk like me gravitate to the self-help section of Amazon. There is no shortage of advice on the power of positivity. As much as I wish I was a magnet for happiness, my life is more complicated and just thinking it so won’t make it so. That is why this video resonates with me.

If you can’t see the player then watch the video on YouTube. To watch more of the RSA Animate videos visit the RSA blog.

I’ve used affirmations in the past, as a form of self-help, but I don’t think they worked. I’ve read self-help books – some classics, others more questionable – and I’ve repeated a thousand times that everyday in every way I am getting better and better. But I admit I lacked belief, and belief is core to an affirmation being effective.

Many people view affirmations favorably, including some readers of this blog. There are others who take the opposite view. I’ve read one or two articles recently that say they are detrimental, to the extent that falling short of an ideal, over and over, will impact a person’s self-esteem.

Scott Adams takes up the subject on his blog today, and it gave me reason to smile.

I have a long-time friend who is always full of energy, enthusiasm and goodwill. It sounds sickening but it’s not; without fail he’s a pleasure to be around. Whenever I ask him how he is, he always replies “fantastic”, “brilliant” or “top of the world”. Does he use affirmations? I don’t know. But after reading Scott Adams I think he has a chicken-and-egg thing going!

Did you know that today, September 13, is Positive Thinking Day?

The Day has its own website, which says that its purpose is simply to celebrate the benefits of positive thinking. Not a bad idea.

The first thing to do is to focus on the following Positive Thinking Day affirmation: “I choose to create a great day!”

Based on my understanding of affirmations, for it to have an impact you need to repeat it about 20 times with lots of concentration and emotional energy. Then, full of enthusiasm, skip over to the Day’s website to see how else you can make a positive difference.

On another subject, I’ve discovered a couple of fantastic blogs in the last few days.

Trick-Cycling for Beginners

This is written by Shiny Happy Person, a “dissatisfied and stroppy junior psychiatrist” working in the UK’s National Health System. If blogs were given classified ratings then this one would be Adults Only, but if you don’t mind the colorful language then the dry English wit is wonderful.

{ Evolving Blueprint }

I love the name of this blog. The “Evolving Blueprint” is about the changing foundation of your life, as you adjust and grow towards the person you aspire to be.

If you know the zen habits blog then this is in a similar space (nobody shoot me). It is firmly focused on health and personal development but without the common “life hacks” feel. Topics include motivation, living simply, goal setting, relationships, and maintaining core values.

Please share your own favorites in the Comments!