Since beginning my journey to health and wholeness I have inevitably begun to embody positive psychology. Positive psychology focuses on what is ‘right’ with people, instead of exploring mental illness, its focus is the science of happiness. Science that proves how beneficial it is to become more optimistic, increase self esteem, experience frequent positive emotions, and live in the present.
About 100 years ago when people began incorporating personal hygiene into their daily routines life expectancy rose by over 50% in just a few short decades. Although positive psychology has only been around for a few short decades, it is imperative that people begin incorporating it into their daily routine and begin embodying it now. Positive emotions have been scientifically proven to increase life expectancy, and in 2019 when life expectancy is actually on the decline due to suicide and drug overdoses, we need to be investing in our ‘mental hygiene’ just as much as our personal hygiene.
Engaging in meaningful social connections, performing acts of kindness, utilizing our strengths, recalling positive experiences, smiling upon waking up…. there are so many scientifically proven exercises to trigger an upward spiral of positive emotion, yet other methods of ‘pursuing happiness’ so often win the fight of our focus. According to a pioneer of positive psychology Ed Deiner, subjective well-being (a person’s cognitive and affective evaluations of his or her life) is unrelated to age, physical attractiveness, money, gender, education level, having children, moving to a sunnier climate, crime prevention, housing, or even objective health. Unfortunately, facts only go so far. That’s one of the many reasons I’ve become the embodiment of positive psychology – because when people see it, they believe it.
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