a post by Samantha Benigno for YourTango.com [via World of Psychology]
Build a morning ritual that changes your life for the best.
Learning how to be happy and how to change your life requires a lot of positivity, and this can start by making necessary changes to your morning routine.
Even though not as easy as it sounds, building a morning discipline into your daily routine just might be the fastest way to improve performance in any area of your life, which will lead you to a path of happiness and positive thinking!
Most people’s morning routines include grabbing their cell phones to check e-mail, texts, social media, or news feeds before they even rouse out of bed in the morning.
The problem with doing this is that rather than deciding how you want to feel and then working hard to cultivate more of that feeling, you are allowing things totally outside of your control to determine how you will feel as you enter into your day.
Whether it’s an e-mail from your boss reminding you of a late report, a phone bill you neglected to pay, or a text message from an ex professing their undying love, by engaging with your phone first, you’ve just placed the fate of your day into the hands of chance!
Rather than letting a “bad” weather report or obnoxious news headline set off a bad mood that could potentially negatively impact the rest of your day — and life — try committing to a daily morning routine.
5 Wellness Travel Trends to Follow for Ultimate Stress Relief
Optimising your state of mind — your mood — as you begin the day is what we call “Winning the day!”
This means preparing your mind and body for all that lies ahead! By taking charge of your morning ritual, you hedge your bet by getting into an optimal state of mind and body from the start. And, it’s absolutely life-changing.
Here are 8 simple things to add to your morning routine to change your life for the better so you can be more positive.
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Before you tell me that this feels more than a bit patronising (with which I agree) do at least look at what is being suggested. Not all of them are, in my opinion, actually simple but if even one idea helps one person then it's been worth passing this on.
Showing posts with label positivity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label positivity. Show all posts
Friday, 22 November 2019
Friday, 8 March 2019
It's Not All Love and Light: Why We Can't Ignore the Dark and Just "Be Positive"
a post by Christine Rodriguez for the Tiny Buddha blog
“The dark night of the soul comes just before revelation.” ~Joseph Campbell
If you frequent Instagram or any other social media platform these days, you may notice countless posts about positivity, self-help, yoga, and green juice. And gluten-free everything.
Most of us equate these messages with spirituality and good vibes. I won’t disagree. These messages do promote good vibes. But, the problem is these posts don’t tell the whole story, and once we log off, many of us still feel incomplete, fearful, and insecure because all of these “influencers” and gurus seem to have it all figured out.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: None of us has it all figured out. We cannot possibly summarize the complexity and fluidity of our lives in one post or yoga pose. And from experience, I can tell you that before you get to the love and light part, there’s a lot to muddle through. As they say, Instagram posts are oftentimes just someone’s highlight reel.
Continue reading
“The dark night of the soul comes just before revelation.” ~Joseph Campbell
If you frequent Instagram or any other social media platform these days, you may notice countless posts about positivity, self-help, yoga, and green juice. And gluten-free everything.
Most of us equate these messages with spirituality and good vibes. I won’t disagree. These messages do promote good vibes. But, the problem is these posts don’t tell the whole story, and once we log off, many of us still feel incomplete, fearful, and insecure because all of these “influencers” and gurus seem to have it all figured out.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: None of us has it all figured out. We cannot possibly summarize the complexity and fluidity of our lives in one post or yoga pose. And from experience, I can tell you that before you get to the love and light part, there’s a lot to muddle through. As they say, Instagram posts are oftentimes just someone’s highlight reel.
Continue reading
Wednesday, 27 February 2019
How to Resist Negative Social Contagion
a post by Marie Hartwell-Walker for the World of Psychology blog
Researchers have discovered that people are remarkably responsive to what other members of their social group are doing. “Social Contagion” is the term social psychologists use to describe the tendency of a behavior, attitude or belief to spread among people who are close to each other.
As much as we may not want to believe it, what we think everybody else thinks or does matters to us. Family harmony often depends on a certain level of conformity. We make friends based more on similarity than differences. Advertisers count on our tendency to be influenced by our perception of what is popular with that mythic “everyone else.”
Some social contagion is decidedly self-destructive. In 2008, 17 high school girls in one small town made a pregnancy pact, all of them trying to get pregnant before graduation. A retrospective study that same year found that adolescent girls are more likely to engage in non-suicidal self harm if their best friends are doing it. Another study found that teens with four or more friends who were abusing drugs and alcohol were also likely to abuse substances. The suicide of one or more people in a group often leads to other people attempting or committing suicide, especially if they were already struggling with depression.
Not all conformity is negative. People are more likely to register to be organ donors if members of their family do the same. Recovery groups are built on the idea that replacing a social group of users with a support group of people with the same recovery goals is a powerful support for positive change. Conservation efforts, composting, and belonging to a farm share are also likely to spread among members of a friend group. You know that card on your hotel pillow asking if you’d like to help the environment by reusing your towels? You are more likely to say “yes” if people you know do it.
Continue reading
Researchers have discovered that people are remarkably responsive to what other members of their social group are doing. “Social Contagion” is the term social psychologists use to describe the tendency of a behavior, attitude or belief to spread among people who are close to each other.
As much as we may not want to believe it, what we think everybody else thinks or does matters to us. Family harmony often depends on a certain level of conformity. We make friends based more on similarity than differences. Advertisers count on our tendency to be influenced by our perception of what is popular with that mythic “everyone else.”
Some social contagion is decidedly self-destructive. In 2008, 17 high school girls in one small town made a pregnancy pact, all of them trying to get pregnant before graduation. A retrospective study that same year found that adolescent girls are more likely to engage in non-suicidal self harm if their best friends are doing it. Another study found that teens with four or more friends who were abusing drugs and alcohol were also likely to abuse substances. The suicide of one or more people in a group often leads to other people attempting or committing suicide, especially if they were already struggling with depression.
Not all conformity is negative. People are more likely to register to be organ donors if members of their family do the same. Recovery groups are built on the idea that replacing a social group of users with a support group of people with the same recovery goals is a powerful support for positive change. Conservation efforts, composting, and belonging to a farm share are also likely to spread among members of a friend group. You know that card on your hotel pillow asking if you’d like to help the environment by reusing your towels? You are more likely to say “yes” if people you know do it.
Continue reading
Friday, 15 February 2019
What Your "Negative" Emotions Are Trying to Tell You
a post by Brianna Johnson for the Tiny Buddha blog
“Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone.” ~Billy Cox
It might sound like a senseless paradox to say that the “bad” or “dark” things about you are actually your “light” or “positive” qualities. However, this isn’t just a feel-good platitude; it’s literally true. The things we struggle with the most are our greatest sources of empowerment.
Because this process is not exactly front and center of modern mental health and wellness movements, committing to your own healing can seem daunting and hopeless. Few people have truly learned how to welcome their painful, suppressed emotions, listen to what they have to say, and come out the other side stronger.
But in today’s world, it’s become increasingly difficult to avoid, suppress, and force ourselves into fake states of positivity. Clearly, our “negative” emotions are bubbling to the surface where they cannot be ignored any longer.
We see anger and pain overflowing into the social and political sphere, in schools where violence occurs, and all over the news. According to ScienceDaily, “121 million people worldwide are impacted by depression, and 850,000 commit suicide every year.”
Continue reading
“Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone.” ~Billy Cox
It might sound like a senseless paradox to say that the “bad” or “dark” things about you are actually your “light” or “positive” qualities. However, this isn’t just a feel-good platitude; it’s literally true. The things we struggle with the most are our greatest sources of empowerment.
Because this process is not exactly front and center of modern mental health and wellness movements, committing to your own healing can seem daunting and hopeless. Few people have truly learned how to welcome their painful, suppressed emotions, listen to what they have to say, and come out the other side stronger.
But in today’s world, it’s become increasingly difficult to avoid, suppress, and force ourselves into fake states of positivity. Clearly, our “negative” emotions are bubbling to the surface where they cannot be ignored any longer.
We see anger and pain overflowing into the social and political sphere, in schools where violence occurs, and all over the news. According to ScienceDaily, “121 million people worldwide are impacted by depression, and 850,000 commit suicide every year.”
Continue reading
Thursday, 1 November 2018
Why Your Positive Attitude Might Be Hurting You
a post by Ginelle Testa for the Tiny Buddha blog
What if I told you there may be a flaw in positive thinking?
How could being positive possibly be unhelpful?
To some extent, positivity can be beneficial. In my life I’ve found optimism to be quite wonderful, crucial even.
Being around people who are generally positive is just far more pleasant than being around people who are constantly negative. Life seems a little bit more manageable when you can practice gratitude. Smiles are had and spirits are lifted with simple platitudes like c’est la vie and it is what it is! Not only is it helpful, but optimism can actually provide a number of benefits.
There was a study done by the University of Kentucky where nuns were rated on a positivity scale based on their diaries in the 1930’s. Sixty years later researchers found that some of these ladies, aged seventy-five to ninety, were still alive. The survivors were mostly the women who scored high on the positivity test, insinuating that happiness leads to a longer life.
Continue reading
What if I told you there may be a flaw in positive thinking?
How could being positive possibly be unhelpful?
To some extent, positivity can be beneficial. In my life I’ve found optimism to be quite wonderful, crucial even.
Being around people who are generally positive is just far more pleasant than being around people who are constantly negative. Life seems a little bit more manageable when you can practice gratitude. Smiles are had and spirits are lifted with simple platitudes like c’est la vie and it is what it is! Not only is it helpful, but optimism can actually provide a number of benefits.
There was a study done by the University of Kentucky where nuns were rated on a positivity scale based on their diaries in the 1930’s. Sixty years later researchers found that some of these ladies, aged seventy-five to ninety, were still alive. The survivors were mostly the women who scored high on the positivity test, insinuating that happiness leads to a longer life.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 11 September 2018
Are Your Hitting Your Losada Line of Happiness?
a post by Claire Dorotik-Nana (Leveraging Adversity) via the World of Psychology blog
It has been said that positive emotions expand our consciousness in ways that help us solve problems. For Barbara Frederickson, the author of Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the Upward Spiral That Will Change Your Life, positive emotions build upon one another in ways that extend beyond the present moment.
Rather than focusing on developing an overarching or all-encompassing habit of happiness, Frederickson argues, we should focus on small “micromoments,” or opportunities for happiness. It is from these moments that we can then broaden and build upon a larger goal of more lasting happiness.
So just how many “micromoments” do we need?
In her early work with Marcial Losada, Frederickson answered this question. In what is now known as the “Losada line” Frederickson and Losada showed that the ratio of positive to negative emotions that fosters flourishing, learning, optimism, and even overcoming various negative physiological factors that accompany negative emotions, is effectively 2.93, or three positive emotions for every negative one.
Continue reading
It has been said that positive emotions expand our consciousness in ways that help us solve problems. For Barbara Frederickson, the author of Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the Upward Spiral That Will Change Your Life, positive emotions build upon one another in ways that extend beyond the present moment.
Rather than focusing on developing an overarching or all-encompassing habit of happiness, Frederickson argues, we should focus on small “micromoments,” or opportunities for happiness. It is from these moments that we can then broaden and build upon a larger goal of more lasting happiness.
So just how many “micromoments” do we need?
In her early work with Marcial Losada, Frederickson answered this question. In what is now known as the “Losada line” Frederickson and Losada showed that the ratio of positive to negative emotions that fosters flourishing, learning, optimism, and even overcoming various negative physiological factors that accompany negative emotions, is effectively 2.93, or three positive emotions for every negative one.
Continue reading
Thursday, 15 February 2018
Positive Self-Talk: 7 Things Mentally Healthy People Tell Themselves
a post by Marie Hartwell-Walker for the World of Psychology blog
The messages we give to ourselves every day have enormous power. Anything that is repeated and repeated and repeated can become “truth” — even when it isn’t. Any coach will tell you that practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect but it certainly does make permanent.
Repeating negative messages can wear down our sense of self as surely as a constant stream of water will wear down even the hardest stone. Repeating positive messages, on the other hand, is more like creating a pearl in an oyster. With each additional positive message, our confidence and competence grows.
Positive psychologists have studied this extensively. As long ago as the 1950s, Abraham Maslow said that a self-actualized person is someone who focuses on her talents and strengths. Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center Dr. Martin Seligman, who has been called the father of positive psychology, has found that when people identify and use their top strengths regularly, they can be more productive and can experience a high level of self-esteem. (If you’d like to identify your top strengths, you can take Dr. Seligman’s free quiz).
Continue reading
The messages we give to ourselves every day have enormous power. Anything that is repeated and repeated and repeated can become “truth” — even when it isn’t. Any coach will tell you that practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect but it certainly does make permanent.
Repeating negative messages can wear down our sense of self as surely as a constant stream of water will wear down even the hardest stone. Repeating positive messages, on the other hand, is more like creating a pearl in an oyster. With each additional positive message, our confidence and competence grows.
Positive psychologists have studied this extensively. As long ago as the 1950s, Abraham Maslow said that a self-actualized person is someone who focuses on her talents and strengths. Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center Dr. Martin Seligman, who has been called the father of positive psychology, has found that when people identify and use their top strengths regularly, they can be more productive and can experience a high level of self-esteem. (If you’d like to identify your top strengths, you can take Dr. Seligman’s free quiz).
Continue reading
Thursday, 11 January 2018
Why Negative Thinking Has Cognitive and Emotional Benefits
a post by Derek Beres for the Big Think blog
Grandmaster chess player Garry Kasparov contemplates a move in a match against grandmaster Fabiano Caruana during the final day of the Grand Chess Tour at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center in St. Louis on August 18, 2017. (Photo: Bill Greenblatt/AFP/G
Positive thinking has long been championed in American culture. While optimism is part of our biological inheritance – when we’re not hopeful about the future, anxiety and depression can easily transform into suicidal tendencies – positive thinking and positive psychology grew into billion-dollar industries, beginning with Norman Vincent Peale’s 1952 book, The Power of Positive Thinking.
Whereas the first self-help book, Self-Help, an 1855 volume by Scottish political reformer Samuel Smiles, was a tribute to the importance of failure, Peale’s objective was quite different. After introducing the concept of “positive thinking”, he taught a continuous and permanent state of optimism. He sold over five million copies while remaining on the NY Times bestsellers list for 186 consecutive weeks, even as he was dubbed a con man and his theories were clinically challenged.
Peale’s message was too seductive for a growingly dissatisfied culture like America, in which more is never enough. This messaging was repeated in 2006 when an equally dubious writer published The Secret, taking the metaphysics of positive thought to new heights. Rhonda Byrne promised that if you weren’t living right, you weren’t thinking right, which set up readers to experience serious guilt – and to purchase subsequent courses, books, workshops, and the rest of the incredible catalog of add-ons that followed.
Continue reading
Grandmaster chess player Garry Kasparov contemplates a move in a match against grandmaster Fabiano Caruana during the final day of the Grand Chess Tour at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center in St. Louis on August 18, 2017. (Photo: Bill Greenblatt/AFP/G
Positive thinking has long been championed in American culture. While optimism is part of our biological inheritance – when we’re not hopeful about the future, anxiety and depression can easily transform into suicidal tendencies – positive thinking and positive psychology grew into billion-dollar industries, beginning with Norman Vincent Peale’s 1952 book, The Power of Positive Thinking.
Whereas the first self-help book, Self-Help, an 1855 volume by Scottish political reformer Samuel Smiles, was a tribute to the importance of failure, Peale’s objective was quite different. After introducing the concept of “positive thinking”, he taught a continuous and permanent state of optimism. He sold over five million copies while remaining on the NY Times bestsellers list for 186 consecutive weeks, even as he was dubbed a con man and his theories were clinically challenged.
Peale’s message was too seductive for a growingly dissatisfied culture like America, in which more is never enough. This messaging was repeated in 2006 when an equally dubious writer published The Secret, taking the metaphysics of positive thought to new heights. Rhonda Byrne promised that if you weren’t living right, you weren’t thinking right, which set up readers to experience serious guilt – and to purchase subsequent courses, books, workshops, and the rest of the incredible catalog of add-ons that followed.
Continue reading
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