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Reader question: Please explain "magical thinking" as in: Trump's magical thinking won't stop the coronavirus pandemic. My comments: Donald Trump, the US President, has famously or rather infamously predicted that the coronavirus will one day "magically disappear". Like, vanishing on its own, into the thin air, like water vapor. Magical thinking, as name suggests, refers to a kind of wishful thinking. Essentially it's this: wonderful things will come true if you believe that they will come true. Like, magically. Like pigeons and rabbits coming magically out of the sleeves of a magician. Needless to say, magical thinking is based more on superstition or religion than on science. That's why Trump was and continues to be criticized for folding his arms and yet hoping the corona crisis facing all Americans will go away. Like, being blown away to the high seas by the four winds. Anyways, here are media examples of "magical thinking", a belief that thinking or wishing something can cause it to happen: 1. "You are not perfect. Get over it" is the message I tell myself when I am stressed out over not being superwoman. Yet as much as I tell myself this truth I still fail to embrace the concept fully. It is this trait, the desire for perfection, which causes me great personal angst and anxiety. There is that competing voice in my head saying, "You can do better" or "You are not doing enough." I have the feeling that I am not alone in my anxiety over the pursuit of perfection. | 
