Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living. It is a call for psychological science and practice to be as concerned with strength as with weakness; as interested in building the best things in life as in repairing the worst; and as concerned with making the lives of normal people fulfilling as with healing pathology. [published in Psychology Today: "What Is Positive Psychology, and What Is It Not?" May 16, 2008 by Christopher Peterson, Ph.D.]
Transcript can be read HERE.
I found this quote in the video to be particularly thought provoking as I thought about my interactions with our own students on campus:
"And what I found in my research and my teaching is that these students, no matter how happy they were with their original success of getting into the school, two weeks later their brains were focused, not on the privilege of being there, nor on their philosophy or their physics. Their brain was focused on the competition, the workload, the hassles, the stresses, the complaints."Achor suggests ways to 'retrain' our brains to focus on the positive. Do you believe this is possible? Do you practice any positive psychology, yourself? In our data-driven world, where students are worried about transcripts, GPAs and what's on the next test, how do we encourage a positive approach? How do you do so in your own life?
Challenge: as suggested by Achor in this talk, recount something positive that has happened to you in the past 24 hours. Share in comments if you'd like, or just jot it down on a piece of paper on your desk. Put it where you'll see it for the next few days (Achor says this allows us to relive the positive moment).
Read more: Harvard Business Review: Positive Intelligence, published in January-February 2012.
My life's mantra if you will for the last couple decades has been "Believe in the Possibility". I thoroughly believe that there are many ways to accomplish just about anything so if one pathway seems blocked or thwarted look for another. The only time we are finished, done kaput in this life is when we choose to quit trying. Being realistic and changing paths is not the same thing as quitting. Changing our minds is not quitting. There are numerous stories of individuals who have overcome incredible odds because they just kept going finding new ways or being tenacious. There are also stories of individuals dealing with death, disease, and horrible conditions with grace and beauty beyond imagination because they did not choose to be deflated by life.
ReplyDeleteTraining your brain to see possibility does not mean bad things do not happen it just means you might see alternatives a bit faster.
CHALLENGE: Something positive in the past 24 hours---I discovered I had calculated all my upcoming plans thinking there were only two more weeks left in July and came to realize in a conversation with a coworker that there are three----happy day----now I will be able to complete several of the projects on "the list" to be completed before August 1
I love "finding" time! I woke up today, thinking it was 6:40am. Got in the shower, got dressed, and then realized it was only 6:10 (and I was dressed and ready to go,). It was a lovely extra bit of time that I only find through serendipity (I've failed multiple times with setting my alarm clock earlier!)
DeleteI actually note something that makes me happy every single day. It doesn't have to be something big, and sometimes it is at work, sometimes it is at home. But it has been refreshing to think that every day I can find something that makes me happy, and I remember that a lot more than I remember what it is that makes a day bad!
ReplyDeleteI actually used this video with my student staff members last year, and noticed a significant difference it our overall morale after viewing it and doing the 21 day challenge. This perspective is incredibly valuable and I'm going to use it as much as possible this year! Thanks for sharing; it's a great reminder to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat, especially with the school year approaching so quickly!
ReplyDeleteThe idea of retraining a brain to be more positive is intriguing. I am a great believer in "use it or lose it," as in, if you DO something, you'll get better at it--writing, being kind to people, ballet. So why not "being happy"?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about happiness recently. We've had a hard week at our house. We came home from a wonderful vacation to a basement that had flooded while we were gone. We had to pull out carpet--but only in one room of the basement, luckily. Our microwave seems to be broken, and I broke our mirrored closet door (7 years bad luck? I don't believe that). Then, worst, our old kitty passed away.
But then Saturday night, I was sitting with my boys and husband after a day of kitty mourning and trying to decide what to do with the basement, when I noticed something: I was smiling--after a day of very little smiling. It felt so good to smile. I was just so happy to be with my family.
Am I able to stay positive during this stressful time because of my natural temperament? (I've also been treated for depression and anxiety, so probably not) Because my parents raised me to be positive? Because I practice it? I don't know. I'm willing to try practice, though, and to strengthen my happiness muscle for difficult times like these.
Have any of you 13Thingers read the recent books "The Happiness Project" or "Happier at Home"? I love those books. They are anything but sugar-coated. Very practical.
Jane, I read The Happiness Project, with thoughts of doing my own! It made me think more deeply about all of the things I have control over when it comes to my own states of happiness.
DeleteI know that being happy begets happy, and being grumpy does the same. So we all have choices to make, and everything worthwhile takes practice and working at. I also really took to heart the thought of seeing stress as a challenge and not a threat. Another great item to live and learn by.
ReplyDeleteGreat Ted talk. I like the challenge because I know we focus on how to be better, how to make more money and reach goals without noticing what is right and good in our lives. Just heard someone speaking about the negatively on TV currently....we love to hate Snookie and the many bachelors/bachelorettes. Maybe we just need a balance of negative and positives in our lives to be happier?
ReplyDeleteI am all on board with the "think happy, be happy" concept. However the practice and the effects are invariably going to vary (excuse the paradox). I think of happiness like a set-point for weight. It can be very difficult to change, but it can be done -- though easier for some people, and much, much more difficult for others. One factor, as any parent of multiple children knows, is temperament. From the 'get go', some children are predisposed to avoid aspects of their environment out of fear or other 'negative' emotions, while other children are more inclined to approach elements of their surroundings to seek rewards, i.e., experience positive emotions.
ReplyDeleteThus, it would be interesting to see if future, more refined research can suggests how different practices might be better tailored to different personalities in successfully freeing people up from 'unproductive' negative emotions.
I have watched this video several times over the past six months and have shared it with countless people during that time as well. I consider myself lucky as my parents were good examples of positivity in motion and I picked this mindset up from them. I also think the ability to problem-solve and troubleshoot is connected to being positive. I can almost always see how problems can be solved/resolved, including how to improve them.
ReplyDeleteI also think being a straight, white, male helps me be more positive. The privilege I hold allows for good thing to happen to/for me much more easily than it can for others. I realize that thinking positive may be able to gain more or sustain more momentum due to the relatively few barriers I face.
I need to be better about writing down something positive each day. I'll start tonight.
Lastly, I use music to help improve my mood when needed. I'm currently hooked on Hanson's (yes, Hason of MMMMBop fame) "Give A Little".
I love the idea of retraining my brian to be more positive. His 5 steps sound simple at first but it will take some doing. But should be worth it. good idea about showing it to our student workers, thanks Wendy.
ReplyDeleteWhen he mentioned how negative the news is, I really can relate. I stopped watching the news on a regular basis because all it ever seemed to cover was the disasters.
Another tip that I heard long time ago. Answer the phone with a smile on your face---even if you have to plant it there. It somehow transmit into the way you are coming across to the person on the other side.
Challenge: Got a lot of thanks and credit for helping with a party that I don't feel I did that much for. It was for good friends and just wanted to do it.
I've got some work to do. ;-)
ReplyDelete