The Importance of Positive Psychology

I attended a very interesting Management Grand Rounds Session today at Harvard Medical on Positive Psychology. It is the first one I have attended and I am excited to say that it was wonderful! The speaker was Shawn Achor, a very influential member of the Harvard community who has done an enormous amount of research on the topic of the psychology of happiness. He travels all over the world teaching how positive psychology can raise both happiness and performance.

Links to one of his talks on positive psychology at a different location:






I first learned about positive psychology while reading about "the law of attraction" in Jack Canfield's The Success Principles which then led me to the many books of Esther and Jerry Hicks (namely Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness).

The law of attraction states that everyone is connected to one another through a giant "web." Thinking in this way, we have the power to change and influence just about anything, utilizing either positive or negative thoughts.

The idea is that negative thoughts produce negative outcomes and positive thoughts produce positive outcomes. So, even if you have the intention of turning a bad situation into something good, you will continue to attract bad things until you stop focusing on the negative.

For example, let's say you are trying to avoid getting the flu. You start thinking a lot about the flu, doing research online about how to avoid it, etc. You have good intentions, but in the end you are still focusing on the negative, the flu. By doing that, you are indirectly "attracting" the flu. The idea then is to flood your mind with thoughts of health and wellness, instead of focusing on the flu.

The goal is to visualize your "perfect world," flooding your brain with positive thoughts. By doing this, you are not only making yourself feel good, but according to "the law of attraction," you are putting yourself in alignment to achieve and receive what you are feeling.

I feel like positive psychology is very similar in that the end goal is to simply feel happy. It makes sense that you get out of life whatever you put in, whether you buy into "the law of attraction" or not. If you feel good on a daily basis, you are probably more likely to be both mentally and physically healthy. This is good!

In his lecture, Shawn narrowed down the 5 things that everyone can do to feel happier in life (ie."train your brain"):

1) Three Gratitudes - Every night write down 3 things that you're grateful for, the more specific, the better.

2) Journaling - Write down your positive thoughts in a journal for at least 20 minutes, a few times a week.

3) Creating a Habit - Establish a new positive habit and keep stick with it (reading a new book every month, exercising, practicing an instrument, etc.).

4) Meditation - Learn to empty your mind and sit quietly for at least 5 minutes every day.

5) Exercise - Studies show that exercise helps keep depression down. I also feel like it helps you develop good habits since it takes a lot of self discipline. I think it often makes me feel good for the sheer reason that I am proud of myself after doing it.

He added a 6th to his lecture, that is not on his list on the website:

6) Random Acts of Kindness - Stanford University psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky asked her students to perform 5 "random acts of kindness" per week. Results showed that these students showed higher levels of happiness than the control group, demonstrating that altruistic acts can lead to an increase in well-being.

More information on this can be found at:
http://www.aspirantworld.com/resources/tips.cfm

The irony of all of this:

If you were to closely follow positive psychology or "the law of attraction" etc., it probably isn't in your best interest to focus on "how to get healthy" (ie. this blog:). It is better to direct your thoughts to how you WANT to feel rather than focusing how to FIX what you are NOT feeling. I personally believe that it is OK to recognize negative feelings provided that they don't become the main focus.

That is the problem with a lot "holistic" medicine in the world today. People become SO fixated on how everything is so unhealthy, how the world is so corrupt, how they need to constantly try new herbs/treatments/detoxify etc. In trying so hard to "get healthy," these people are actually making themselves more ill in the process. Many of these people are often already healthy and end up even CREATING problems.

I don't want to send a mix message in saying all of this though. I am very much into alternative medical treatments and trying to be healthy, but I feel that it is important to also stay positive and not FOCUS on what is wrong, negative, or unhealthy.

It is OK to recognize a problem, in fact, for people who internalize things, it is therapeutic to recognize that something is wrong. Recognition is what allows us to also let things go. Too much recognition though can go in the opposite direction, NOT allowing us to let something go. It is when people begin to obsess over these problems, never recognizing any positive changes in their bodies or lives, that they go wrong.

I believe that it is possible to address health concerns while ALSO maintaining a positive outlook on life! The mind and body are VERY closely linked and people often ignore the health benefits of keeping a positive outlook on life.