Prioritise Positivity

USE POSITIVITY THE RIGHT WAY  AND

Intentionally inuence your happiness

Prioritise Positivity

USE POSITIVITY THE RIGHT WAY  AND INTENTIONALLY INFLUENCE YOUR HAPPINESS

SONIA LANCASTER Director - Research and Development

INTRODUCTION

In this book we look at the term “prioritising positivity” and its relationship to experiencing happiness and enhancing our overall wellbeing.

Positive and negative events are elements of life - sometimes we can control them, and other times they seem to appear randomly with no warning signs.

The way we respond to these events can dramatically affect our mental and physical health. Importantly, the way we intentionally go about our daily lives can also signicantly impact our overall wellbeing.

Knowing all of this, the question is, how can you use positivity to inuence your happiness and wellbeing?

To help answer this, let's take a look at some of the research and strategies we can use.

What does the research say?

If we start by looking at happiness, something we all aspire to have, the  search for happiness is described as  ‘’.. adelicateart [1]

If we look at happiness as the state of experiencing positive emotions (e.g. joy, love, interest, gratitude), there are specic strategies that can be used to cultivate happiness.

What is important is that

not all of these strategies are created equal some are actually counterproductive [1, 2]

, and .

So let's look at what research has to say.

Research shows that when people are paying attention to their level of happiness – happiness actually tends to decrease.

constantly

People who try to maximise  their happiness during a  positive event with high expectations in mind, or obsessively value happiness, end up with lower levels of  happiness.[1-3]

Research has shown that  on a positive life experience can increase wellbeing BUT a positive life experience can have the opposite effect.

reecting analysing [4]

analysing reecting

There is a difference between and   and sometimes what appears to be the obvious choice, isn't necessarily the case!

Remember the infamous saying:

“Itisn’twhatyoudo,but howyoudoit

-JohnWooden

Prioritising Positivity

Prioritising positivity refers to the extent to which individuals proactively structure  their lives to have regular experiences of positivity.[1]

While the choices that each of us make can differ quite signicantly, the common thread is the tendency to seek out positivity in daily life.

Research shows [5]

that people high in prioritising positivity gained some great benets such as:

They experienced more frequent positive emotions

Fewer negative emotions

Greater life satisfaction

More ourishing; and

They were less depressed

So why are positive emotions so important?

Well, positive emotions predict:

How well people's immune system function

Their job performance

The strength of their social bonds

These are important factors for most, if not all, of us.[6]

Two important tips worth remembering

Tip 1

While happiness is a priority for those people high in prioritizing positivity, it is not the only thing that they value, and they will tend to have other goals of importance.

Tip 2

Research supports that we can inuence our own wellbeing through  prioritising positivity and

intentional actions.          [3]

Putting it into Practice

Now, think about your own life.

Firstly…

Ask yourself and contemplate, when you recall positive life experiences that you've had, are you reecting on them or analysing these events?

Wenowknowthatprioritisingpositivity,how wegoaboutarrangingourdailylives,can improveourhappinessandwellbeing.

So knowing this, consider how can you incorporate this into your life.

Up for a Challenge?

In the next pages we've listed three activities for you to consider.

Have a read through them and see which one resonates with you and start incorporating that activity into your daily life.

Note:

The aim of these activities is to help you prioritise positivity and experience it's benets.

Activity 1

Plan for positive moments that you enjoy –for example, if you enjoy going out for a walk in nature with friends, give them a call and organise it, or take some time to go for a walk with your pet.

Activity 2

Engage in practices designed to increase positivity – things like meditation, mindfulness, writing gratitude letters and practising acts of kindness. Think about positive things that really make you feel good!

Activity 3

‘Let go’ of high expectations that you selfimpose– for example, if you are at a get together with friends, rather than regularly assessing whether you’re having a good time, instead have an attitude of acceptance.

Final Thoughts

Once you have done these activities, it’s important to also allow yourself to be creative and come up with your own ways in which you can begin to prioritise positivity in your daily life.

About the Author

A co-founder and Director of research and development at Iswara, Sonia Lancaster heads up the Research team in the development of Iswara’s wellbeing programs. With a background in behavioural ecology and Masters in Applied Positive Psychology, Sonia is driven to help people be mentally t and live well.

As a lifelong meditation practitioner, combined with her strong research background, Sonia has a strong understanding of integrating theory with practices throughout Iswara's offerings to enable people from all walks of life to improve their overall wellbeing.

Disclaimer

This book is part of the Iswara Connect series and is published for the benet of our readers and is for information and guideline purposes only, and does not constitute medical or health advice. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please refer to our full disclaimer here. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

References

. Catalino, L.I., S.B. Algoe, and B.L. Fredrickson, Emotion, 2014. (6): p. 1155-61.

Prioritizingpositivity:aneffectiveapproachto pursuinghappiness? 14

. Datu, J.A.D. and R.B. King, Personality and Individual Differences, 2016. : p. 111-114.

Prioritizingpositivity optimizespositiveemotionsandlifesatisfaction:A three-wavelongitudinalstudy. 96

. Catalino, L.I. and W. Tov, Emotion, 2022. (5): p. 874-879.

Dailyvariationinprioritizing positivityandwell-being. 22

. Lyubomirsky, S., L. Sousa, and R. Dickerhoof, J Pers Soc Psychol, 2006. (4): p. 692-708.

The costsandbenetsofwriting,talking,andthinking aboutlife'striumphsanddefeats. 90

. Littman-Ovadia, H. and P. Russo-Netzer,

Prioritizing positivityacrosstheadultlifespan:initialevidencefor differentialassociationswithpositiveandnegative emotions. 28

Quality of life research, 2019. (2): p. 411420.

. Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Review of General Psychology,111-131.

Pursuinghappiness:The architectureofsustainable change. 9,

Prioritise Positivity

If you are looking for ways to increase your happiness level or enhance your wellbeing, this short book will provide you with just the right amount of insights into research, tools and strategies to make you feel like you can put these ideas into action easily and start reaping the benets straight away.