I have seen a meme on social media about toxic positivity a few times lately. My first reaction was — “Yeah, I hate that!” — and I was about to share the post. Then I stopped and thought about it.

I am a CliftonStrengths Evangelist. This is a self-proclaimed title. It’s not anything that I can prove — except by talking to you non-stop about Strengths. (Friends and family members can attest to this.)

The CliftonStrengths assessment rates your talents from 1 to 34. I have taken the assessment twice in the last seven years. I lead with Strategic Thinking themes. Positivity®️ is number 34 for me.

When I first got my full report and saw this, I was bummed. “I’m a positive person,” I thought. Then I read the description for this theme and agreed — it definitely isn’t me.

I’ve been accused of being a pessimist. I say I’m a realist. I won’t gloss over problems just to stay cheery. In fact, people who do that bug me, that’s why I was immediately drawn to the toxic positivity meme.

But as a follower of CliftonStrengths, I affirm that:
We need each other because everyone has different strengths.

I am not good at everything. A person with high Positivity®️ is bringing something to the table that I don’t have. It’s easy for me to diminish it because it’s at the bottom of the list for me. However, the person who is super positive might not be strong in Ideation® — which is number one for me.

As I’ve gotten to know my own talents, I’ve started thinking of them as my superpowers. When I am able to use them in the best way possible, I can do great things. When I can’t practice my talents, I lose, and everyone around me loses too. Also, when my talents are tamped down, I can’t show up as my authentic self.

Why wouldn’t the same be true for the person with a talent of Positivity®?

I know a woman who hates brainstorming. When she told me this, it blew my mind. I could sit in a room all day and come up with ideas, but the thought of doing that made her shudder. I instantly saw how we could benefit each other.

So maybe a person I see as being positive to the point of being toxic is just being who they are. If I accept their talent as their superpower — just like I expect them to accept mine — maybe we can work together and become a dynamic duo!

Or maybe, just for starters, I can get a few people to think about that Toxic Positivity meme before they share it. After all, thinking is one of the ways I am giving back to the universe.

And don’t you dare tell me I‘m overthinking! That would be diminishing my superpower.