Positive Psychology

One of the things that I like to do in my spare time is listen to podcasts that inspire me and encourage my own personal growth and development. Recently I listened to this podcast and I liked it so much I wanted to share it.  The podcast is The Happy Secret to Better Work by Shawn Anchor, a psychologist who studies and researches positive psychology, which is essentially the study of good things -- people’s happiness, strengths, love, optimism, resiliency and more (aka the positive things in life).

I love this podcast because 1) it’s hilarious and 2) it has some excellent points. Shawn talks about how much our perspective influences how we respond to our life circumstances.  I see the importance of this so much in my own life and in my work as a counselor. How we chose to think about things can be so influential. Our society constantly bombards us with negative news and stories of doom and gloom. This can lead us to focus even more on the negative and miss out on seeing the good things in our lives, in others, and in our society.  

What if we decided to try to notice more of the positive?  What if we decided to focus more on our strengths rather than our weaknesses?  I believe that every person and child that comes into my office has strengths that we can use and build on in counseling. I think it’s very easy and natural to focus more on the negative, especially when we are struggling and having a hard time. I totally understand that! It isn’t easy for me either. But even in the midst of hard times our perspective on it can make a huge difference. I encourage you to listen to this podcast and see what you think.

Thanks for reading!
-Rondale