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A LITTLE MORE HAPPINESS
With the state of the world today, we could all use a little less stress and a little more happiness. There are tools which specifically focus on stress reduction and repeating them consistently will increase happiness and reduce stress.
American psychologist, educator, and author Martin Seligman developed the concept of positive psychology in 1993. Even though psychologists are trained to help clinically depressed people feel better, there were no guidelines for helping people who are considered okay live a fuller, more vibrant life. How can we help people thrive?
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The following are some simple interventions we can all apply to our lives. The key to being successful is consistency. It works if you work it.
Three Good Things
Every day, at the same time, write down three good things that happened to you that day. Commit to doing it for 30 days and not repeating yourself. As the month goes on, dig deeper and notice the little things such as the barista made me the most amazing latte or the birds were singing a happy chorus this morning.
Positive psychology pulls from many different scientific principles to guide the development of this intervention. It capitalizes on neuroscience and the knowledge of neural pathways and neuroplasticity. (We are often told the brain is a muscle; this is a similar concept.)
Humans are wired to notice the negative because as we evolved we had to protect ourselves and became hypervigilant. We were protecting ourselves from physical dangers; whereas in today’s society we are often more threatened psychologically.
This intervention forces you to pay attention to the positive. If you do it consistently, you will permanently rewire your neural pathways, and noticing the “Good Things” will become a habit.
The Free Three
The following activities are directly connected to improved mood and higher levels of satisfaction in life.
• GET OUSIDE for at least 15 minutes, preferably in nature.
• LAUGH. Watch a funny film clip or spend time with people who make you laugh.
• MUSIC. Listen to music, preferably up beat tempos which energize you.
These are easily accessible activities which are FREE. It may sound simple, but these are action-oriented activities which enhance positive psychology programming.
For more information on Positive Psychology visit www. authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
