"Nothing Happens for a Reason" (Patreon)

Joshua and Ryan discuss how to identify and appropriately address toxic positivity with author, podcaster, and professor Kate Bowler, and they answer the following questions:

How did megachurches arise in the United States? (00:00)

What is a “prosperity church”? (05:32)

What is “experiential capitalism”? (16:02)

What is “sanctification”? (28:55)

What do you do about the overwhelming expectation that surviving something traumatic, like cancer, should lead you to a joyous epiphany and a constant positive outlook on life? (47:31)

Where do you draw the line between genuine self-improvement and toxic positivity? (54:23)

How does the toxic positivity in the U.S. compare with other nations? (1:02:55)

How do we deal with the frustration that arises when people insist that our trauma is a gift? (1:07:08)

How do I balance positivity and disappointment? (1:11:54)

LINKS

Article: I Don’t Plan to Do a Bucket List

Book: Blessed

Book: Everything Happens for a Reason

Book: Love People, Use Things

Book: No Cure for Being Human

Essay: 100 Days with No Goals

Instagram: Jordan Moore

Instagram: Podcast Shawn

Instagram: Danny Unknwn

Podcast: Everything Happens

Podcast: Lori Gottlieb

Podcast: The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

Resources: The Minimalists

Subscribe: The Minimalists

Text: 937-202-4654

Tour: The Minimalists

Watch: Less Is Now

Website: Kate Bowler

Website: Richard Rohr

Website: Zen Habits

MAXIMS

“Self-pity is the bedrock of toxic certainty.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“When it’s not everything and it’s not nothing, you must then ask yourself, ‘What is possible today?’” —Kate Bowler

“Our emotions are mountains: the peaks create the valleys.” —Ryan Nicodemus

This Maximal episode corresponds with Minimal episode 304.