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Positive Psychology Articles
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- Where Are You Headed? - by Submitted on Jan 16, 2017 from Rick HansonThe Practice. I recently did a meditation retreat (at Spirit Rock, wonderful place, including for workshops). One evening as we walked out of the hall after the last sit, I was feeling rattled and discombobulated. (One of the benefits of a retreat - though it can be uncomfortable - is that it ...
Views: 926 - Fighting for My Mental Health: Battling My Insurance Company for Coverage - by Submitted on Jan 13, 2017 from B.L. AckerI have struggled with depression my entire life. Before I even knew what mental illness was, back in a time when it was the gorilla in the room that nobody talked about, I knew something was different within myself. Off. Wrong. Unlike many people suffering from depression that can pinpoint a ...
Views: 1633 - Negativity Not Allowed - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2017 from Judi MoreoNegativity Not Allowed - Determined Optimism It seems like every conversation I have had with someone lately, they have brought up the terrible state of the economy. I’ve started off many conversations with my friends this week with the sentence, “No negativity allowed.” I refuse to accept ...
Views: 1891 - A Powerful Concept to Alter Children’s Behavior - by Submitted on Jan 10, 2017 from Gary Direnfeldhere is a Jewish word that doesn’t translate directly into English, but it informs my attitude to people who have undergone hardship and need help. Translated, the word is a hybrid of several concepts, not standing alone on any one, but really the combination of all. The concepts or words ...
Views: 1063 - Wishing well? - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2017 from Rick HansonLately, I've been wondering what would be on my personal list of top five practices (all tied for first place). You might ask yourself the same question, knowing that you can cluster related practices under a single umbrella, your list may differ from mine, and your practices may change over ...
Views: 956 - TOP TEN REASONS to CELEBRATE 2017 (Even if “Send in the Clowns” is the inaugural theme song) - by Submitted on Jan 04, 2017 from joan pancoe“Don't you love a farce? My fault, I fear I thought that you'd want what I want sorry, my dear But where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns Quick, send in the clowns Don't bother They're here” Dear One, Happy New Year! As 2017 begins, I’ve ...
Views: 1810(1 vote) - What Can I Do? - by Submitted on Jan 04, 2017 from Rick HansonI'm doing a series on my personal top five practices (all tied for first place), and have so far named three: meditate (including mindfulness, self-awareness, and, if you like, prayer), take in the good, and bless (including compassion, generosity, and love). I saw one way to bless on a ...
Views: 837 - Is There Enough? - by Submitted on Dec 26, 2016 from Rick HansonOne slice of the pie of life feels relaxed and contented. And then there is that other slice, in which we feel driven and stressed. Trying to get pleasures, avoid pains, pile up accomplishments and recognitions, be loved by more people. Lose more weight, try to fill the hole in the heart. Slake ...
Views: 1251 - Control Your Anger - by Submitted on Dec 23, 2016 from Mitra ShahidiControl your anger or it will control you. Control your anger as it can cloud your ability to make good decisions and find creative solutions to problems. It can negatively affect your work performance. With insight about the real reasons for your anger and learning anger management ...
Views: 1383 - What's Carrying You? - by Submitted on Dec 20, 2016 from Rick HansonFeeling both the world and myself these days, one phrase keeps calling: lived by love. Explicitly, this means coming from love in a broad sense, from compassion, good intentions, self-control, warmth, finding what's to like, caring, connecting, and kindness. Implicitly, and more ...
Views: 816 - *** Loving Yourself Through Holiday Stress - by Submitted on Dec 19, 2016 from Margaret PaulBy Margaret Paul, PhD December 19, 2016 ________________________________________ Do the holidays and other family events or gatherings stress you out? Discover what might be the underlying cause of this stress and what to do about it. ________________________________________ "OMG, ...
Views: 994 - What Are You Bracing Against? - by Submitted on Dec 13, 2016 from Rick HansonThe title of this practice is a little tongue-in-cheek. What I mean is, most of us - me included - spend time worrying about criticism: past, present, and even future. Yes, try hard, keep agreements, "don't be evil," etc. But sooner or later - usually sooner - someone is going to point out the ...
Views: 827 - Are You Getting Rope Burn? - by Submitted on Dec 05, 2016 from Rick HansonAs a rock climber and a parent, I know some physical kinds of clinging are good - like to small holds or small hands! But clinging as a psychological state has a feeling of tension in it, and drivenness, insistence, obsession, or compulsion. As experiences flow through the mind - seeing, ...
Views: 1076 - Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall, What Are The Deepest Wants Of All? - by Submitted on Nov 28, 2016 from Rick HansonI did my Ph.D. dissertation by videotaping 20 mother-toddler pairs and analyzing what happened when the mom offered an alternative to a problematic want ("not the chainsaw, sweetie, how about this red truck"). Hundreds of bleary eyed hours later, I found that offering alternatives reduced child ...
Views: 878 - 5 Tips for Obtaining Mind and Body Balance - by Submitted on Nov 26, 2016 from James BurbankEstablishing a balance between body and mind is vital for the general well-being of a person. Body and mind are inextricably connected, so everything we think about, affects our body in a certain way. Just think about how many times you’ve heard people say they have a headache, and after a ...
Views: 1117 - What Is Your Sense Of Peace? - by Submitted on Nov 21, 2016 from Rick Hanson“Peace” can sound merely sentimental or clichéd (“visualize whirled peas”). But deep down, it’s what most of us long for. Consider the proverb: The highest happiness is peace. Not a peace inside that ignores pain in oneself or others, or is acquired by shutting down. This is a durable peace, ...
Views: 892 - What Can I Do? - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2016 from Rick HansonI'm doing a series on my personal top five practices (all tied for first place), and have so far named three: meditate (including mindfulness, self-awareness, and, if you like, prayer), take in the good, and bless (including compassion, generosity, and love). I saw one way to bless on a ...
Views: 887 - What Are You Resisting? - by Submitted on Nov 07, 2016 from Rick HansonAs general clusters that each include a number of specific methods, my Top 5 types of practices (all tied for first place) are: * Be mindful * Love * Take in the good * Go green * Open out So far, I’ve written about the first four of these clusters, and you can click the links just above ...
Views: 922 - How To Let Go Of The Past And Forgive Yourself - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2016 from Mitra Shahidi“In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” ~ Deepak Chopra There is no life without emotional scars; no one escapes flawless; no one can claim perfection without committing mockery upon himself. Jesus, the great example of humility for ...
Views: 1559 - How To Stop Having Negative Thoughts - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2016 from Mitra ShahidiLet go of negative thinking as it can become a habit of mind, and it can have a serious, sometimes devastating impact on all aspects of your life. It seems unfortunately that with most people, positive thinking requires some effort, whereas, negative thinking comes easily and often ...
Views: 1650 - Who Are You Resisting? - by Submitted on Oct 31, 2016 from Rick HansonI admit it: whether close to home or far away, I wish some people were different. Depending on who they are, I wish they'd stop doing things like leaving cabinet doors open in our kitchen, sending me spam emails, or turning a blind eye to global warming. And I wish they'd start doing things like ...
Views: 1154 - What's Changing? - by Submitted on Oct 24, 2016 from Rick HansonThe fifth of my personal Top 5 practices (all tied for first place) is open out, by which I mean relaxing into a growing sense of connection, even oneness, with all things. (The other four are be mindful, love, take in the good, and go green.) "Opening out" can sound kind of airy-fairy or ...
Views: 935 - Is It Hard? - by Submitted on Oct 17, 2016 from Rick HansonSometimes things are difficult. Your legs are tired and you still have to stay on your feet another hour at work. You love a child who's finding her independence through emotional distance from you. A long-term relationship could be losing its spark. It's finals week in college. You're trying to ...
Views: 950 - A Long Overdue Letter to Myself - by Submitted on Oct 17, 2016 from B.L. AckerI have been struggling with mental illness my entire life. Just recently, I began writing and speaking out about my struggles with depression, anxiety and ptsd, as well, shouting from the mountaintops to anyone who could hear, hoping not only to help others understand but to battle the stigma ...
Views: 1446 - The Mental Illness Epidemic - by Submitted on Oct 17, 2016 from B.L. AckerMental illness is the gorilla in the room that nobody wants to talk about. It is that dirty secret that everyone knows but never openly acknowledges, instead whispering about it in dark corners where others cannot hear. It has become an epidemic of catastrophic proportions, yet it is still ...
Views: 1336 - Forgiveness Isn’t Just a Nice Thing to Do. It’s Essential for Your Physical Health. - by Submitted on Oct 15, 2016 from Andrew BozemanToday’s health conscious trends tell us that sugar can lead to diabetes and damage our brains to accelerate the onset of Alzheimer’s. Lack of fiber in our diets can lead to constipation, excessive weight gain, fatigue and physical weakness. Poor exercise habits can lead to back problems and ...
Views: 1576 - MID-FALL 2016: KARMIC DÉJÀ VU: “Remembrance of Things Past” - by Submitted on Oct 15, 2016 from joan pancoe“I’ve seen 50, I’ve seen 60 and, baby, 40 is better.” I've been rich, I’ve been poor, and rich is better. I've been young, I've been old, and young is better. If I could turn back time, If I could find a way.” CHER Joan Pancoe: “NOT!” Dear ONE, This Fall, the ongoing ...
Views: 1401(1 vote) - 15 Important Life Lessons You Must Learn In Your Twenties - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2016 from Cathy scarlettYour twenties are probably the sweetest part of your life. You get your first job, your first love, marriage, kids, your first car, your first home, start a new business, learn new things…But, unfortunately, most people spend their twenties being jobless/changing jobs, breaking up, living a ...
Views: 1054 - What Helps You Carry Your Load? - by Submitted on Oct 10, 2016 from Rick HansonWe're all carrying a load, including tasks, challenges, worries, inner criticism, mistreatment from others, physical and emotional pain, loss and illness now or later, and everyday stresses and frustrations. Take a moment to get a sense of your own load. It's very real, isn't it? Recognizing ...
Views: 862 - When the Opinions of Others Matter Too Much - by Submitted on Oct 07, 2016 from Suzanne St. John SmithFrom the moment we’re born until the day we die we are continually absorbing messages that tell us who we are, what we’re worth as human beings, what we should be doing at any given time, how we should look (and especially how we shouldn’t look), what we should eat, what we should buy, what ...
Views: 1241 - Out Of Balance? - by Submitted on Oct 03, 2016 from Rick HansonBy "sobriety," I mean healthy self-control, a centered enjoyment of life, and an inner freedom from drivenness. We typically apply this sense of balance and self-care to things like food, drugs and alcohol, sexuality, money, and risky behaviors. And if you like, you could bring sobriety to other ...
Views: 920 - WAITING ON THE FUTURE TO BE HAPPY - by Submitted on May 27, 2017 from Michael DaileyWAITING ON THE FUTURE TO BE HAPPY By: Mike Dailey “How much of human life is lost in waiting.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Life’s currency is measured and spent in time. Time, not money, is life’s true currency. If at the beginning of every day you were handed ...
Views: 1168 - Do You Got To? - by Submitted on Sep 26, 2016 from Rick HansonWe're pulled and prodded by financial pressures, commuter traffic, corporate policies, technology, advertising, politics, and the people we work with and live with. As well, internal forces yank the proverbial chains, including emotional reactions, compelling desires, "shoulds," and internalized ...
Views: 984 - What Would Bear Lots Of Fruit? - by Submitted on Sep 19, 2016 from Rick HansonMy wife and kids tease me that the title of this practice is corny - and it is. Still, I like it. If you don't nourish the things that nourish you, they wither away like a plant in dry stony ground. Looking to the year ahead for you - a year that can begin whenever you want - what's one key ...
Views: 836 - Are You Nurturing Your Body? - by Submitted on Sep 12, 2016 from Rick HansonWhy? [Note: This JOT is adapted from Mother Nurture.] The easiest and usually most effective way to replenish your body is through good nutrition. Most of us have a diet that is very different from the one that we are adapted to through millions of years of evolution - a diet of mainly ...
Views: 1025 - ***Secrets to Writing Your Own Affirmations - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteUsing affirmations is a key component to building new mental habits and beliefs about yourself. What you tell yourself about yourself is directly related to your self-confidence, how you feel about yourself and what you believe you can accomplish. By repeating positive affirmations, you ...
Views: 7024 - Powerful Ways to Develop Positive Emotions to Have High Self-Confidence - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HartePeople with high self-confidence naturally have optimistic and joyful emotions as well as the knowledge that they can change their emotions from negative to positive. You can’t be down in the dumps and have high self-confidence at the same time. The two don’t mix. Emotions are a normal part ...
Views: 7620 - Attitudes that Lead to Success or Failure in Making Changes to Your Self-Confidence - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian Harte“Change,” “growth,” “learning,” and “self-discovery” are all terms that signify the same process. When you change and grow, you begin acting differently and are seen by others as a new person. You must encourage the old you to step down and allow the new you to blossom and take its place. ...
Views: 6827 - Discover the Many Costs of Not Being Self-Confident - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteIf you remain with low self-confidence, you can expect your life to continue as it is. Nothing will change. You will think poorly of yourself and, following your lead, others will too. What to Expect with Low Self-Confidence There are many costs associated with low self-confidence. ...
Views: 6492(1 vote) - 4 Myths About Self-Confidence - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteMany people believe a number of myths about self-confidence. They’ve heard these myths from relatives or friends, or perhaps they’ve read them in books or in articles. These myths can be very damaging because they keep people from developing their self-confidence. They make people feel ...
Views: 9261(1 vote) - Just What Are High Self-Confidence and Low Self-Confidence? - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteLike everyone, you have a self-concept, which is a sense of who you are. It is a habit you’ve developed since the time you were very young, and it’s very familiar to you. Let’s look at the difference between high self-confidence and low self-confidence. If You Have High Self-Confidence, ...
Views: 6417 - How Self-Confident Are You? Take This Quiz - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteDo you find it’s difficult for you to make your dreams come true? Are you so worried about how others think of you that you can’t live your life the way you want? Are you hesitant about making friends, or you have friends who put you down? We’ve all had experiences where our confidence has ...
Views: 6965 - Spice Up Your Affirmations! - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteAva goes throughout her day putting herself down. She looks at herself in the mirror in the morning and thinks how ugly her hair and nose are. She arrives at her job and tells herself how much she dislikes doing this work but that she’ll never find anything better. At lunch, she doesn’t sit ...
Views: 6801 - How to Nurture Yourself With Your Self-Talk - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteWhile it is true that your confidence was especially vulnerable to external influences when you were a child, as you grow older, you can gain awareness and perspective on what those influences were and how they were received. When you begin to do this, you can choose which influences you will ...
Views: 7074(1 vote) - The Core Beliefs That Plague Women - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteAs girls are growing up, their parents and culture teach them how to be. Most girls get the message that they’re supposed to be and act in certain ways. Many of these messages encourage girls to be “less than.” In many ways, girls are taught to have low self-esteem as part of their ...
Views: 6794 - Your Self-Talk Can Make You or Break You - Predicting a Negative Outcome and Overgeneralizing - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteSince your self-talk affects everything about your life, what you learn in this article is crucial to your growth toward high self-confidence. Have you ever said any of these to yourself? • I can’t do it. • I’m so stupid! I can’t do anything right. • I’m afraid to speak up at ...
Views: 7544 - Your Self-Talk Can Make You or Break You - Labeling and Comparing Yourself with Others - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteThere are so many ways that your self-talk can add to your life or subtract to it. In this article, I’ll explain two types of mind games your self-talk can play with you: labeling and comparing yourself with others. Let’s start with labeling. Labeling Layla self-talks using negative ...
Views: 5802(1 vote) - Your Self-Talk Can Make You or Break You - Focusing on the Negative and Mind Reading - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2020 from Vivian HarteThere are so many ways that your self-talk can add to your life or subtract to it. In this article, I’ll explain two types of mind games your self-talk can play with you: focusing on the negative while discounting the positive as well as mind reading. Let’s start with focusing on the negative ...
Views: 6688 - Are You Feeling Cross? - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2016 from Rick Hanson[Note: This JOT is adapted from Mother Nurture, a book written for mothers - focusing on typical parenting situations and gender differences that are experienced by many, though not all, mothers and fathers, and by parents in same sex relationships. Parenting is a complex subject, plus it ...
Views: 1032 - Are You Working Together? - by Submitted on Aug 29, 2016 from Rick Hanson[Note: This JOT is adapted from Mother Nurture, a book written for mothers - focusing on typical parenting situations and gender differences that are experienced by many, though not all, mothers and fathers, and by parents in same sex relationships. Parenting is a complex subject, plus it ...
Views: 995