Dear friends,
With all of the uncertainty and negativity floating around these days, I wanted to focus on something a bit more positive, and what better way to do that than with positive psychology?! Even though I am a self-proclaimed psychology nerd, I recently came across this specific field while taking a social psychology class this past semester. Due to the broadness of psychology and all there is to know about the science, I figured a lot of folks may not know that much about positive psychology or how it can be used to help people with approaching daily life.
For those who are interested in learning more about positive psychology and how to incorporate its principles into your daily life, keep reading. For those who are not interested, so long and I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day---no sarcasm there what so ever ;) I get it. Learning about psychology can be pretty bland for some people, but I'm glad I'm not one of them! Hehe...
Anyways, at the basic level, positive psychology involves the scientific study of all the things that make life worth living with a focus on the individual but also society as a whole. Individual differences are things that set each one of us apart, the things that make you...you. In every aspect of psychology, including positive psychology, individual differences come into play, and the individual remains at the forefront.
At the end of the day, the ultimate goal of this field of psychology is to improve people's quality of life by studying individual traits, subjective experiences, and institutions that evoke positivity, or positive feelings. Through this study, researchers and people in general can develop a better understanding of how to make themselves, experiences, and even the groups they're a part of better. Utilizing positive psychology as individuals can create a more overall positive effect in society as a whole due to the large amount of interactions humans have with each other. Think about it. If everyone in the world were to be happy, positive, and compassionate 24/7, wouldn't the world and society in general be a much more peaceful, loving, and positive environment? Ultimately, this is the goal of positive psychology---to better the lives of individuals and society as well.
At the early stages of development for psychology as a science, most of the research and focus were on negative aspects of psychological disorders and effects from them like maladaptive thinking patterns. Positive psychology is kind of the opposite, focusing on well-being, happiness, and well,...positivity. Also, this form of psychology even focuses on bettering and maintaining positive relationships with other individuals.
Regarding our best lives, research has shown that there are several main components that are necessary for living your best life. One, kindness. By showing yourself and others kindness, you'll be able to boost your social wellbeing and your mental wellbeing. Two, gratitude. In positive psychology, gratitude is acknowledging, accepting, and being appreciative of all the good things in life. Once again, this comes down to individual differences, and each person may have different areas to show gratitude. Three, social connection. By being an active member or part of a group/community/team/whatever it may be an individual can boost their self-esteem, social connection, and overall well-being. In a study done by Layous et al., prosocial behavior in young children can actually boost their self-esteem and well-being. Humans are tribal in nature and crave physical, mental, and emotional connection to others---that is just the way we are. Through implementing social connection, gratitude, and kindness into your daily life, positive psychology will help you to be living your best life.
If you are interested in learning more about positive psychology, follow this link https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/#:~:text=In%20positive%20psychology%2C%20gratitude%20is,Emmons%20%26%20McCullough%2C%202004). for a plethora of informative and helpful information! Not only does positive psychology benefit you in the short term, it can also help you lead a more happy life overall. After learning more about the benefits of positive psychology, I have been trying to implement some of it's practices into my daily life. Overall, gratitude has been my biggest improvement. By appreciating, accepting, and being thankful for each day I am given, I always have something to view positively; life itself. I implore you to dig a little deeper than just this brief blog post on positive psychology to see how it can help you most. Until next time...
xoxo,
Allie
References:
Peterson (2008) https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00352.x