Positive Psychology is Not Only About Being Positive

Etel Leit

Want To Be A Person with Happiness, Gratitude, Pleasantness, Flourish, Optimism… Positive Psychology can help you with that.

Lauren is radiant with light. I met her a few years back. It doesn’t matter when you talk to her; she smiles. This is not the fake smile a salesperson smiles at you when you enter the shipping center hoping you will purchase the top seller of the gold face cream. Lauren is genuine. Her voicemail ends with: “Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.” With her inspiration, I also changed my voicemail a few years back to: “What are you grateful for today?” (I highly recommend finding your version). Not only she sees the best in me and always emphasized the good she sees, but you will also hear her saying at loud: “I’m the best.” Now, who really says it to other people without coming off as arrogant these days? Being with Grace is feels like a vacation. Literally. I leave our time together not only with a smile but stronger to go and do all the things I always dreamt of and wanted. Lauren is like a vitamin C and D for the soul.

You might have heard the new buzzword Positive Psychology. Grace lives by it every day. Have you heard about Positive Psychology?

Before you read on, try to ask yourself some questions: If you had your past to live over, do you think you would live it the same or change something? Are you satisfied with your life in the past? Do you think your current life is ideal for you? These are a few questions from one of the positive psychology assessments, the Temporal Satisfaction With Life Scale (TSWLS). So, what do you think?

What is Positive Psychology?

Positive psychology is a branch of psychology. It focuses on building positive individual behaviors, experiments, traits, and institutions and aiming to improve life quality.

“The more you feed your mind with positive thoughts, the more you can attract great things into your life.”

Everyone wants to be happy, and everyone likes to be with happy people. Positive Psychology teaches us to focus on the positive things in our lives and pay attention to our strengths instead of our weaknesses. What positive psychology cares about, besides “problems,” is the hope and need to know how to get better development and how to face life optimistically.

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels that include the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life (Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi).”

Ways to Practice

● Pleasant Life: A pleasant life is all we want. Right? People tend to live in victimhood. They emphasize the negative emotions rather than the positive. When successfully achieves various positive emotions in life, including happiness, confidence, calmness, and contentment, these are the most common needs in a stable life. By emphasizing your positive emotions and developing effective methods, you will achieve and maintain a better life.

Ask yourself: What are the positive emotions I feel now?

● Strengths & Virtues: Instead of putting ourselves down or finding the downsides in someone you love, how about shining their strengths? Complaining about someone is easy. Looking at their value requires a pause. Suppose we use our unique Strengths and Virtues in all the essential areas of our lives — family, relationships, work, parenting, etc. Research shows that building Strengths and Virtues are the necessary ladders to a better life. Focusing on your and others’ strengths and virtues provides you a better opportunity to see a more beautiful world.

Ask yourself: What are my strengths? What virtues do I like in my partner/boss/family?

● Gratitude: When was the last time you remember that you genuinely say thank you to someone or feel appreciated for something? Learn to be grateful, know how to be grateful, and face life positively and bravely with a generous attitude. Gratitude is a kind of happiness, a virtue. Learn to be grateful can help you achieve more authentic happiness.

Ask yourself: What am I grateful for today (not in general, just for today)?

So, How Can It Help You?

When you feel down, depressed, or upset about your life, worry about your choice, encounter a problem. Positive psychology can be the one that helps you better cope with your issues. By identifying the good things and appreciating the good moments in your life, you can find tangible happiness that lowers your stress level and improve your overall life satisfaction.

As Kelli O’Hara said, “I suppose there are a lot of reasons to be jaded or sarcastic or bitter in life, but I hang on to the reasons why life is beautiful.” Life may not always be smooth or go on as you wish. But, it is important to remember that there are still many things worth fighting for, especially your well-being and happiness. Positive Psychology is the best choice for you to achieve a more satisfying and meaningful life.