Having a positive mindset, mental attitude, or perspective toward the outside world does not necessarily lead to success, happiness, or well-being, or increase your chances of succeeding at anything or making your life better in any way, shape, or form. It just leads to what it is: positivity. Which is good, but doesn’t solve anything, or make anything better. It just makes itself exist or be present, without adding anything else to your life aside from its own existence.

Yes, I get a lot of criticism whenever I mention that mindset adjustment and perspective manipulation don’t make a difference, simply because you can’t control your mind in dark circumstances. Instead your mind starts to attack you because it cannot find anyone else to attack in this case. This keeps spiraling into self-loathing and eventual depression. The only thing that makes a difference is the results. Making a difference in the real world. Making your external reality better. Fixing your environment. Solving your problems. Changing your circumstances to what works better for you. Even reading is a change in the external real world. People talk about mindset as if listening to positive, motivational, or uplifting podcasts or YouTube videos is a mindset change. No it’s an external reality change. Positivity is coming from the outside world into your mind. It’s a new habit. A distinct activity that puts you in a better mood. So this is not a mindset or perspective shift. It’s enjoying content that pumps you up and makes you more enthusiastic, energetic, and ambitious. I’m amazed at people who tell you it’s all a game of mindset when they have everything. When everything is infinitely perfect in their lives. So convincing. But when they were poor, they worked like eighteen hours a day for years just to get to where they are today. If it wasn’t that bad, and a positive mindset might make you in heaven even if you are going through the worst of circumstances, why bother torturing yourself for years just to lift yourself out of the poor class? Why bother succeeding financially if happiness was the ultimate success, and you can be happy just by fixing your mindset and perspective toward everything negative or hurtful in life? Why push yourself? Why not just chill and take it easy all the time? That is of course without mentioning the fact that money is not the only external thing that is not okay in your life. This doesn’t mean you should be pessimistic to win more in life. It just means that being positive or negative is irrelevant. It changes nothing. Except of course if you’re a fan of delusional thinking.

Listening to music that makes you be in a good mood is not a mindset shift or a change of your perspective on things or perception of reality. It’s an external event that falls under the category of being in a better environment.

Exercising that makes you feel good because of the endorphins isn’t mindset. It’s a change in the nature of what you practically do in the real world that becomes reflected upon how you feel. It’s not positivity. It’s taking action that leads to positivity. So which has led to which first?