Episode 164 - Avoid Toxic Positivity!

Have you ever come off of a bad or frustrating call, and get on the truck or back to the station and use that sacred space to debrief and express your feelings and frustration to your crew only to hear someone on your crew say something like, “It could’ve been worse!” or “we’re just lucky to have jobs!”? When people respond to your vulnerability and willingness to express frustration in this way, they are ultimately diminishing your feelings or ignoring them altogether. There are more examples of this type of response and behavior, but I recently discovered that there is an official term for it; “toxic positivity”. In today’s episode, I will share what I’ve learned about what “toxic positivity” is, help give you some ways to identify it, and I will provide you with some strategies that we can use so that we aren’t the ones purveying this type of dismissive behavior. -- IGNITEd Firefighter Facebook Group IGNITEd Readers Book Club