Positive emotions increase life satisfaction by building resilience

[Daniel E.]

Positive emotions increase life satisfaction by building resilience
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
July 2009

People who seed their life with frequent moments of positive emotions increase their resilience against challenges, according to a new study by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill psychologist and colleagues.

The study, “Happiness Unpacked: Positive Emotions Increase Life Satisfaction by Building Resilience,” appears in the June issue of the bimonthly journal Emotion.

“This study shows that if happiness is something you want out of life, then focusing daily on the small moments and cultivating positive emotions is the way to go,” said Barbara Fredrickson, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences and the principal investigator of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory.

“Those small moments let positive emotions blossom, and that helps us become more open. That openness then helps us build resources that can help us rebound better from adversity and stress, ward off depression and continue to grow.”

In the month long study, 86 participants were asked to submit daily “emotion reports,” rather than answering general questions like, “Over the last few months, how much joy did you feel?”

“Getting those daily reports helped us gather more accurate recollections of feelings and allowed us to capture emotional ups and downs,” said Fredrickson, a leading expert in the field of positive psychology.

Building up a daily diet of positive emotions does not require banishing negative emotions, she said. The study helps show that to be happy, people do not need to adopt a “Pollyanna-ish” approach and deny the upsetting aspects of life.

“The levels of positive emotions that produced good benefits weren’t extreme. Participants with average and stable levels of positive emotions still showed growth in resilience even when their days included negative emotions.”

Fredrickson suggested focusing on the “micro-moments” that can help unlock one positive emotion here or there.

“A lot of times we get so wrapped up in thinking about the future and the past that we are blind to the goodness we are steeped in already, whether it’s the beauty outside the window or the kind things that people are doing for you,” she said. “The better approach is to be open and flexible, to be appreciative of whatever good you do find in your daily circumstances, rather than focusing on bigger questions, such as ‘Will I be happy if I move to California?’ or ‘Will I be happy if I get married?’”

In addition to Fredrickson, the study authors are Michael A. Cohn of the University of California San Francisco, Stephanie L. Brown of the University of Michigan, Joseph A. Mikels of Cornell University and Anne M. Conway of the University of Pittsburgh.

Fredrickson is the author of the book Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity and Thrive (Crown Publishing, 2009).

 

[chrisrich]

In my own experience I have found that (and forgive the cliche) you really do have to love yourself before others will. When the light is shining inside. people see it and are attracted to. I know that when I started working out and exercising regularly it did a lot for my self esteem. I also found that by getting involved in hobbies or volunteering was a great way to get out to meet people.

Believe me when I say that positive thinking and self confidence is the key to a fulfilling life and that the change comes from with in. One book that was helpful to me was "Who Will Cry When I Die?" by Robyn Sharma.

I have changed my path in life through positive thinking. I used to be very pessimistic and severely depressed. I am a completely different person now. I can walk down the street in confidence and people certainly respond well to it.

 

[Daniel E.]

Believe me when I say that positive thinking and self confidence is the key to a fulfilling life and that the change comes from with in. One book that was helpful to me was "Who Will Cry When I Die?" by Robyn Sharma.

Certainly looks like a good book:

Amazon.com: Who Will Cry When You Die?

 

[Daniel E.]

How do you help your clients build internal resources?
by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.
Quick Tips for Therapists, New Harbinger Publications

Let’s say your client is prone to feelings of inadequacy and can’t sustain much sense of worth. Or she’s anxious and isn’t feeling safe, or is depressed and can’t feel pleasure. Or it’s a couple rebuilding their connection, but new experiences of closeness don’t "stick to their ribs."

It’s the same core problem: how to develop internal resources like resilience and a positive mood. That entails addressing the brain’s survival-(but misery)-promoting negativity bias; it’s like Velcro for painful experiences and Teflon for positive ones.

One key solution is taking in the good in four essential steps:

1. Turn positive events into good experiences. Look for good news about the world and yourself (e.g., a flower blooms, someone is nice to you, you get something done) and actually feel it when you see it.
2. Savor the experience. Let it become as intense and long-lasting as possible.
3. Sense it sinking in. Imagine and feel it soaking into your body and mind.
4. Sense current, positive experiences sinking into, soothing, and eventually replacing old, negative ones. Have the positive experience be powerful and prominent in the mind while the negative one is dim and in the background.

The aim is not recollection of specific events but the reshaping of implicit (emotional) memory.

Clients can use this taking-in-the-good exercise both in and out of your office. Most of what they take in will be little stuff: gratitude for the smell of an orange, a compliment from a friend, a moment of being kind, the recognition of a task finally completed.

But bit by bit, day by day, they’ll be weaving new, positive resources into their brains and their selves.

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is the author of Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom

 

[Daniel E.]

Taking In The Good
Psychology Today blog: Your Wise Mind
by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

Do Positive Experiences “Stick to Your Ribs?”

Scientists believe that your brain has a built-in "negativity bias." In other words, as we evolved over millions of years, dodging sticks and chasing carrots, it was a lot more important to notice, react to, and remember sticks than it was for carrots.That's because - in the tough environments in which our ancestors lived - if they missed out on a carrot, they usually had a shot at another one later on. But if they failed to avoid a stick - a predator, a natural hazard, or aggression from others of their species - WHAM, no more chances to pass on their genes.

The negativity bias shows up in lots of ways. For example, studies have found that:

• In a relationship, it typically takes five good interactions to make up for a single bad one.
• People will work much harder to avoid losing $100 than they will work to gain the same amount of money.
• Painful experiences are much more memorable than pleasurable ones.

In your own mind, what do you usually think about at the end of the day? The fifty things that went right, or the one that went wrong? Like the guy who cut you off in traffic, what you wish you had said differently to a co-worker, or the one thing on your To Do list that didn't get done . . .

In effect, the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones. That shades "implicit memory" - your underlying expectations, beliefs, action strategies, and mood - in an increasingly negative direction.

And that's just not fair, since probably most of the facts in your life are positive or neutral. Every day, lots of good things happen, such as a lovely sunset, someone is nice to you, you finish a batch of emails, or you learn something new. And lots of other good things are ongoing aspects of your world (e.g., your children are healthy, life is peaceful in your corner of the planet) or yourself (e.g., personal qualities like determination, sincerity, fairness, kindness).

Besides the sheer injustice of it, acquiring a big pile of negative experiences in implicit memory banks naturally makes a person more anxious, irritable, and blue. Plus it makes it harder to be patient and giving toward others.

In evolution, Mother Nature only cares about passing on genes - by any means necessary. She doesn't care if we happen to suffer along the way - from subtle worries to intense feelings of sorrow, worthlessness, or anger - or create suffering for others.
The result: a brain that is tilted against lasting contentment and fulfillment.

But you don't have to accept this bias! By tilting toward the good - "good" in the practical sense of that which brings more happiness to oneself and more helpfulness to others - you merely level the playing field.

You'll still see the tough parts of life. In fact, you'll become more able to change them or bear them if you tilt toward the good, since that will help put challenges in perspective, lift your energy and spirits, highlight useful resources, and fill up your own cup so you have more to offer to others.

And now, tilted toward absorbing the good, instead of positive experiences washing through you like water through a sieve, they'll collect in implicit memory deep down in your brain. In the famous saying, "neurons that fire together, wire together." The more you get your neurons firing about positive facts, the more they'll be wiring up positive neural structures.

Taking in the good is a brain-science savvy and psychologically skillful way to improve how you feel, get things done, and treat others. It is among the top five personal growth methods I know. In addition to being good for adults, it's great for children, helping them to become more resilient, confident, and happy.

Here's how to take in the good - in three simple steps.

1. Look for good facts, and turn them into good experiences.
Good facts include positive events - like the taste of good coffee or getting an unexpected compliment - and positive aspects of the world and yourself. When you notice something good, let yourself feel good about it.

Try to do this at least a half dozen times a day. There are lots of opportunities to notice good events, and you can always recognize good things about the world and yourself. Each time takes just 30 seconds or so. It's private; no one needs to know you are taking in the good. You can do it on the fly in daily life, or at special times of reflection, like just before falling asleep (when the brain is especially receptive to new learning).

Notice any reluctance to feeling good. Such as thinking that you don't deserve to, or that it's selfish, vain, or even shameful to feel pleasure. Or that if you feel good, you will lower your guard and let bad things happen.

Barriers to feeling good are common and understandable - but they get in the way of you taking in the resources you need to feel better, have more strength, and have more inside to give to others. So acknowledge them to yourself, and then turn your attention back to the good news. Keep opening up to it, breathing and relaxing, letting the good facts affect you.

It's like sitting down to a meal: don't just look at it--taste it!

2. Really enjoy the experience.
Most of the time, a good experience is pretty mild, and that's fine. But try to stay with it for 20 or 30 seconds in a row - instead of getting distracted by something else.

As you can, sense that it is filling your body, becoming a rich experience. As Marc Lewis and other researchers have shown, the longer that something is held in awareness and the more emotionally stimulating it is, the more neurons that fire and thus wire together, and the stronger the trace in memory.

You are not craving or clinging to positive experiences, since that would ultimately lead to tension and disappointment. Actually, you are doing the opposite: by taking them in and filling yourself up with them, you will increasingly feel less fragile or needy inside, and less dependent on external supplies; your happiness and love will become more unconditional, based on an inner fullness rather than on whether the momentary facts in your life happen to be good ones.

3. Intend and sense that the good experience is sinking into you.
People do this in different ways. Some feel it in their body like a warm glow spreading through their chest like the warmth of a cup of hot cocoa on a cold wintry day. Others visualize things like a golden syrup sinking down inside, bringing good feelings and soothing old places of hurt, filling in old holes of loss or yearning; a child might imagine a jewel going into a treasure chest in her heart. And some might simply know conceptually, that while this good experience is held in awareness, its neurons are firing busily away, and gradually wiring together

***
Any single time you do this will make only a little difference. But over time those little differences will add up, gradually weaving positive experiences into the fabric of your brain and your self.

(For more on Taking in the Good, please see Chapter 4 in Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom)

Dr. Hanson also writes a weekly column, Just One Thing, a free newsletter that suggests a simple practice each week that will bring you more joy, more fulfilling relationships, and more peace of mind. Subscribe to Just One Thing to receive your copy each week via email.

 

[busybee]

Daniel I am so thankful for these posts. I have a son who is currently facing some challenges and talking to him it seems that he is embarking on a difficult path very similar to mine in my youth. Listening to him express his ideas last evening, I shared with him my own experiences learnt much later in life through trial and error, strategies to overcome what he may be experiencing. All the above posts put talk intellectually to what I was saying. It is the laying down of all the positive things, celebrating small individual things ........... like the sun on the water when walking in the morning and providing your mind, soul and spirit with the opportunity to absorb the positives. Thank you.