CRUEL OPTIMISM MEANING HOW TO

The most direct illustration in Cruel Optimism concerns what people used to call the American Dream. But Berlant means it in a political sense, and in the sense of a machine that can be taken apart in order to articulate its elements. At one level, this is the most conventional of observations, a notion from a song lyric (the term “affect theory” always makes me hear Morris Albert’s “Feelings” in the distance). But on the whole, it is a coherent and helpful addition to the ideas, now influential throughout the culture, that Berlant wrought in 2011’s Cruel Optimism, and-despite being written in the torturous style affect theory is notorious for-it clarifies a few points.Ĭruel Optimism is a detailed book, but its argument is concise: what we want hurts us. Duke University Press is publishing On the Inconvenience of Other People posthumously, and it sports some unfinished-feeling parts toward the end. When University of Chicago professor and eminence in the field of affect theory Lauren Berlant passed away last year at the age of sixty-three, they had, like Columbo, just one more thing to say. If the goal is to get to the finish line, this is the next right step.On the Inconvenience of Other People, by Lauren Berlant,ĭuke University Press, 238 pages, $ 25.95 This week, take the time to open the door of honest and vulnerable dialogue. It’s time to go beyond the easy fixes and dive in to conversations that are supportive and potentially transformative.

Is there anything I can do to support you?.

Does this need to be done right now? Does this need to be done by you?.

Do you have boundaries in place that allow you to love yourself and others at the same time?.Are you still feeling invested in the work and fulfilled by its mission?.

Using last week’s thought exercises as a foundation, I’ve listed five compassionate questions you can ask your friends and colleagues who are experiencing burnout. This approach helps us honestly investigate the cause of burnout and collectively build solutions. Hari suggests that the alternative to cruel optimism is not pessimism. It also falsely implies that we’re failing if we’re still struggling after a 10 minute meditation. The problem is when our friends, family and colleagues strongly suggest that if you only did more self-care, you wouldn’t be burned out. I whole-heartedly believe in bubble baths, walks around the lake and a glass of wine on the front porch. We say,Ĭruel optimism is when someone says, ‘ I’ve got a solution for you!’ and, in effect, distracts you from the reality and complexity of the real problem.įor the record, I love taking care of me. This is what we do when someone tells us they’re burned out.

CRUEL OPTIMISM MEANING HOW TO

You enjoyed the British fellow telling you how to manifest your goals in your nifty meditation app. “You’re doing great, just visualize the finish line!” “Hey! You look tired, get some electrolytes in ya!” and You’re scouring the countryside for a viable off-ramp when friends on the sideline call out. You’re hot, tired and on mile marker ‘who knows what at this point’.

Cruel optimism meaning