How Can Positive Psychology Benefit You?
Ostrich ferns
How can you make use of one of the most exciting developments in the field of psychology? Could you personally benefit from Positive Psychology?
I think the answer is a resounding yes! There are some principles of this practice that shift the focus from endless analysis of what caused the problem to what you can do to solve the problem.
While it is useful to understand how you have come to the situation you are in, failing to move beyond it will do no good.
One of the concepts that you might understand and then build upon is resilience. Webster defines resilience as:
1: the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
2: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change
Karen Reivich, a psychologist who does resilience training for the military has an even better definition. She says, “Resilience is the ability to grow and thrive in the face of challenges – bending instead of breaking. Compassion, patience, love, these are the words I want us to be thinking about.”
At one time the power of positive thinking was understood to be a process of forcing yourself to “paste over” your ordinary reality with some nice, glib statements. There was a character on Saturday Night Live which you might remember talking to himself in the mirror in this manner.
Instead, promote lasting change in yourself by deepening your understanding of what is going on. Stop and ask yourself, “What can I learn from this situation?” Who else is involved and do I empathize with them? What are they experiencing? How can I benefit myself and everyone else?
More about this in the next post.