Two studies published last year cast a bit of shade on the power of positive thinking and of avoiding negative emotions. This thinking came as a bit of a surprise to me, given that the business and consulting world is one that feeds on optimism and positive self-talk. “You can do it!” “I can get that done in time!” “I can survive this work marathon!” Personally, I'm not only an optimist, but I also deeply believe that only optimism has kept me going at various dark periods in my work life.

So what gives? What's with the dissing of optimism? In the short run, we (in the business world) champion the power of setting stretch goals and going for them. I coach people all the time to both live with the discomfort of public speaking and practice various techniques to overcome or at least ameliorate the nerves. One of the more successful techniques is developing a positive mantra that addresses the specifics of the discomfort.

Many businesses themselves are started in a welter of optimism, and the entrepreneurial story bank........

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