--- title: The Art of Negative Thinking: How Negativity Can Make You Happier description: Excerpts from my interview with Oliver Burkeman, author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking. What The Ancient Stoics Can... canonical: https://time.com/2852596/the-art-of-negative-thinking-how-negativity-can-make-you-happier/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-10T14:38:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:54:13.982Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How Negativity Can Make You Happier og:description: What the ancient Stoics can teach you about happiness og:url: https://time.com/2852596/the-art-of-negative-thinking-how-negativity-can-make-you-happier/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac9875d3e3d45e58/698696e155a8595cfea814bd/175280847.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 175280847 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Negativity Can Make You Happier twitter:description: What the ancient Stoics can teach you about happiness twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac9875d3e3d45e58/698696e155a8595cfea814bd/175280847.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Art of Negative Thinking: How Negativity Can Make You Happier by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 10, 2014 2:38 PM UTC  Business man holding up smiley face in front of hi Business man holding up smiley face in front of hiMulti-bits—Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 10, 2014 2:38 PM UTC Excerpts from my interview with Oliver Burkeman, author of [The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0080K3G4O/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0080K3G4O&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). ## **What The Ancient Stoics Can Teach You About Happiness** Oliver Burkeman: --- > “” --- Eric: --- > “” --- Oliver Burkeman: --- > “” --- ## **Why Thinking Positive Fails** Oliver Burkeman: --- > “” --- ## **How To Set Goals That Work** Oliver Burkeman: --- > “” --- ## **Related Books Oliver Recommends** --- > “” --- ## Another Immediately Useful Happiness Technique Oliver Burkeman: --- > “” --- **Join 45K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [The top FBI hostage negotiator teaches you the 5 secrets to getting what you want](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/01/interview-negotiation-secrets-learn-top-fbi-hostage-negotiator/) [UCLA Film School professor Howard Suber explains how you can be a better storyteller](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/03/interview-ucla-film-school-professor-howard-suber-explains-storyteller/) [Persuasion expert Robert Cialdini explains the best ways to influence people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/06/robert-cialdini-influence/) _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2852596/the-art-of-negative-thinking-how-negativity-can-make-you-happier/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2852596/the-art-of-negative-thinking-how-negativity-can-make-you-happier/"},"headline":"The Art of Negative Thinking: How Negativity Can Make You Happier","datePublished":"2014-06-10T14:38:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:54:13.982Z","description":"Excerpts from my interview with Oliver Burkeman, author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking. 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