The Tools Of Positive Psychology | The Wisdom Podcast S4E26

Here I explore how Positive Psychology can serve not only as a remedy for problems but also as a framework to make our work, studies, and personal lives more fulfilling.

I’ll be sharing science-based tools and practices that explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology including strengths, values and self-compassion to give you the tools to enhance your well-being and the 7 Positive Psychology Interventions that become the tools for living in pure happiness.

Join me!

Be sure to check out my live sessions every Monday and Friday.

Transcript

In today's episode,

We are talking about positive psychology.

I find this area so fascinating,

It is far bigger than simply thinking positively about something,

About a situation,

About your life.

And what we are going to do is explore how positive psychology can serve not only as a remedy for problems,

But also as a framework to make your work,

Your study,

Your personal life more fulfilling.

I'll be sharing the science-based tools and best practices that explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology,

Including strengths,

Values,

And self-compassion,

To give you the tools to enhance your well-being.

There's really three key areas that I'd like to share with you here.

Seven positive psychology interventions,

Or PPIs,

Are the breadth of the work in positive psychology,

How these positive psychology interventions work,

And why they are so helpful.

And I believe that if you are taking some notes,

You're going to glean several practices here and skills that I know you're going to want to use for the rest of your life.

So as you're listening here,

Use the therapy mapping tool as a guiding tool to answer the questions I have asked of you,

That is,

What are you working on,

How will you know that you're being effective,

And of course,

What tools and therapeutic interventions will you use to the end and results you seek.

You can get the therapy mapping tool from me,

You can download it,

It's available right here,

My gift to you,

Or drop me an email and I will send it to you.

Let's begin with what positive psychology interventions are.

They are a set of scientific tools and strategies that focus on increasing happiness,

Well-being,

And positive cognitions and emotions.

Existing research shows that over the years,

Psychologists have focused more on treatment than on prevention.

Psychotherapy and assessments developed and popularized in the past have mostly offered solutions to anomalies such as depression,

Anxiety,

Stress,

Panic,

And trauma,

Among many others.

But in the last two decades in particular,

There has been a growing focus on tools that can flourish and promote your well-being,

And also in the absence of any mental health issues.

This is what positive psychology interventions are.

They are focused on raising your positive feelings,

Positive thoughts,

And positive behavior.

And they have two essential components.

The first,

To focus on enhancing your happiness through positive thoughts and emotions.

And second,

The sustainment of the effects of these for the long term.

So as you get better at using the tools as you need them,

What also begins to happen is you incorporate these tools and skills into your life.

They become a life skill.

And I love how this model of psychology really does focus on the strengths,

The attributes,

The achievements,

The traits that you would say you really like and love about yourself.

Positive psychology interventions are all based on helping you lean into those ways of being that are already some of your best and most salient strengths.

Here's a question I'm going to jump in and ask of you right now,

And keep it in mind as we go through the list of the seven positive psychology interventions I'm about to share with you.

What are you doing right now that is a practice of positive psychology?

As we go through the list,

I think you're going to find that you are already practicing positive psychology interventions,

And diving in here together,

I hope will strengthen your resolve to use positive psychology interventions as a daily practice.

The first type of positive psychology intervention is called savoring.

Savoring interventions focus on a particular experience and aim to enhance the effects for maximizing happiness.

The core principle of these interventions is to encourage you to take in every little aspect of experience that is physical,

Sensory,

Emotional,

And social.

And due to its emphasis on wholesome perception,

The savoring positive psychology interventions resemble mindfulness strategies,

Although they're not entirely alike.

Savoring interventions can be connected to everyday experiences like breathing,

Walking,

Eating,

Smelling,

Observing,

Only with even more orientation and focus to what you are consciously attending to.

Think about stepping outside and just being aware of what you take in through your senses.

Depending on the time of year,

You're going to encounter temperature,

Climate,

Sound,

Of course.

And the idea of savoring is to really turn up the dial to enhance what you are experiencing.

I was walking early in the morning,

And at this time of year,

There's something about the wind that rustles the leaves and the trees that's just so beautiful.

It's mesmerizing.

So I stop and I just listen.

I look up,

I pay attention,

I take in the sounds.

I let the sound and the feeling of the wind just move through me as well.

And that's an example of savoring,

Using your senses and just being very present to everything.

Savoring positive psychology interventions can be reliably used for treating depression and mood disorders as they produce happiness and self-satisfaction.

And I must say,

Each of the seven positive psychology interventions has an abundance of research connected to it.

We know that these work,

And they are helpful far beyond the traditional way of thinking about positive psychology as to see the world with rose-colored glasses or approach things from a perspective of your glass half full.

Yes,

These are important,

But the seven interventions we're talking about go deeper still.

Let's look at number two.

Number two is one I know you have been using already.

It is gratitude.

I've always said this,

The quickest,

The most direct path to happiness is gratitude.

And gratitude evokes strong feelings of positivity in the person who gives it,

And the person who receives it.

Gratitude interventions are categorized into two parts.

First,

Self-reflective practices.

For example,

Writing a gratitude journal that you keep as a tool of self-expression.

And second,

Gratitude as an interactive method,

Whereby we actively express gratitude to others by saying thank you,

Giving small tokens of appreciation,

Or reaching out and connecting with someone and expressing positivism to them.

For whatever type of practice you follow,

Gratitude interventions have proven benefits in increasing happiness and satisfaction.

Research shows that as gratitude is such a powerful emotion,

That by merely identifying and naming the incidents and the people we would like to thank,

We can feel more positive and motivated from the inside.

Third,

On our list of seven positive psychology interventions,

Is kindness.

Another one I know that you have used.

Kindness is a trait all happy people possess,

And studies have shown that happiness and kindness go hand in hand and complement each other.

Positive psychology interventions focusing on compassion can be simple acts like buying someone a small token of love,

Volunteering for a cause you believe in,

Donating something,

Helping a stranger in need,

And certainly a smile and hello and a thank you are acts of kindness.

Kindness reinforces your happiness and positivism.

It's what helps you to feel better.

Of course,

One of the simplest things you can do to enhance your mood is to be kind to yourself and also to others.

Another example of a kindness booster positive psychology intervention is called pro-social spending.

This is like paying it forward.

It is willingly buying something for someone as a gesture of goodwill.

It can be taking your partner out for a meal,

Paying for the order for the person standing in line behind you.

These are examples of kindness activities that promote happiness through altruistic and selfless contentment.

We always feel better when we are kind.

Number four on our list is empathy positive psychology interventions.

Empathy-orientated interventions focus on strengthening positive emotions in interpersonal relationships.

For example,

Healthy social bonds,

Both personal and professional,

Are essential for happiness and contentment,

And they contribute to our feelings of contentment and purpose.

You might find it interesting that positive psychology interventions that promote empathy include activities like self-love activities and self-love meditations and mindfulness practices and self-care,

All of which have the focus on creating positive feelings towards oneself and others by being more mindfully connected to the present.

Empathy-based interventions also focus on building relationships through effective communication,

A broader and open perspective,

And for bridging the gap between self and others.

The core principle behind empathy as a positive psychology intervention is to understand another's perspective and to also build strong connections with others.

I also want to say here that empathy toward oneself is extremely important as a positive psychology intervention.

When we can practice being kind and thoughtful and reverent and having empathy for ourself as we may be going through challenges and hardships,

And maybe just an abundance of tasks that we need to accomplish each day,

The empathy here is being patient with self,

Using kind words,

Being attentive to one's needs.

That could be a nap,

It could be exercise,

It could be taking a break,

All of which helps support our well-being.

All right,

Number five on our list of positive psychology interventions is optimistic interventions.

Optimistic interventions create positive outcomes by setting realistic expectations.

An example of an optimistic positive psychology intervention is an exercise called Imagine Yourself,

Or I often refer to it as your future ideal self,

Where you write down how and where you see yourself in the future.

Evidence suggests that although this might be a relatively easy task,

Non-directed imagination is actually a great way for people to understand how positive they can be about themselves and their life.

And another interesting optimism-orientated positive psychology intervention is what is called the Life Summary Technique.

It's a practice where we assume we are happy and prosperous in our life,

And we write a summary of our life based on that assumption.

It's like a life in review,

And it focuses on our strengths and achievements and all of the beautiful aspects of our life so far.

This is also another tool and practice that is exceptionally great for gaining insight into what you are doing in your daily life,

How it can hopefully lead to satisfaction and a feeling of purpose and meaning,

And also how you can pursue the ideal life you want.

If you're aware of Abraham Maslow's theory of need hierarchy,

How it looks is like a triangle essentially,

And at the highest level of human needs are things like self-actualization,

Self-enhancement,

Self-esteem,

All of which are intertwined with finding and living a greater purpose or meaning of life.

And at the bottom,

The larger part of the triangle,

We have basic needs such as shelter,

Food,

Water,

That sort of thing.

As you move up the need hierarchy,

As you are able to employ positive psychology interventions that are meaning-orientated,

These are activities like finding meaning in your daily activities,

Setting realistic goals,

And employing effective means to achieve them.

And also,

Reflecting on your thoughts and emotions,

Being introspective and self-aware,

And processing your feelings.

Meaning-orientated positive psychology interventions are also widely used for treating stress disorders,

Especially post-traumatic stress disorder,

Where a person needs guidance to find lost happiness in life and to cope with the aftereffects of a disaster.

We're going to jump into how these positive psychology interventions work very simply.

They are directed towards improving upon what is already there inside of us,

Which again means using positive psychology interventions,

Like any of the ones I mentioned,

Are going to help build confidence,

Self-esteem,

Self-worth,

Well-being,

A positive mindset,

Resilience,

And they're going to allow you to feel far more happier and able to successfully navigate life.

And finally,

A study conducted on the role of time focus and the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions revealed that the two operating factors that contribute most to the success of each of these seven interventions are a shift of attention from negative to positive and an internalization of positive emotions,

Both of which happen when you are using each of these seven positive psychology interventions.

I do hope that you will practice them,

Incorporate them into your life as life skills,

And I would love to hear from you if you have any that you have created that you use,

That you find helpful for you.

And again,

Thank you so much for diving into this area of psychology,

This model of psychotherapy with me.

And if you would like my help to employ any of the ones that I've mentioned and others,

Do reach out and let me help.

Thank you so much for joining me here,

I will see you in the next episode.

This is Dorothy Zanori Juno,

Namaste.

Thank you so much for joining me in this episode of the Wisdom Podcast.

To hear more,

Please check out the other episodes here,

As well as my guided meditations,

Including my signature prose meditations and I Am Mantras,

And as well the meditations to guide you into a deep and restorative sleep.

Please also visit me on social media and say hello.

And a special thank you to Insight Timer for this beautiful space to share all of my love.

Allow yourself to go within,

To access your inner wisdom,

And to live this.

Awaken your authentic power,

Live your truth,

And be loved.

Namaste.

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