If you’re like many people who experience feelings of sadness, depression or anxiety, you likely get caught up and entangled by your mind’s nasty and critical stories about you and your life. While it is reasonable and may even be natural to acknowledge the circumstances, situations or private experiences that evoke your discomfort or pain, your mind’s unending chatter and focus on what is wrong with you and your life has many negative effects on your health as your life narrows to only focusing on what your mind tells you.
Research in the area of Positive Psychology suggests that by shifting your attention and focusing on your character strengths, you can create upward spirals that will lead to a life time of authentic happiness.1,2, Fortunately, shifting your attention and noticing what is going well in your life and celebrating your successes is simply a matter of being G.L.A.D. every day.
To help you flourish and experience more authentic happiness, keep a journal and write about what it is that you . . .
GRATITUDE: Each day you have experiences and situations that you can appreciate for which you can experience gratitude. When you begin journaling about what you feel grateful for it may be challenging for you because your mind incessantly focuses on what ails you or is wrong with your life. The fact is that everyone who is alive has a reason to feel grateful. You may simply begin by writing about how you are grateful that you can be grateful. Appreciate the simplicity of life. Your lungs breathe for you every day without you telling them to do so. The fact that you have a roof over your head, food to eat and clean water to bath with each day. Your friends and family. In counting your blessings, start by focusing on what you are capable of doing.
Several psychological studies have found that when you cultivate gratitude you are more likely to also be happier, cope more adaptively and increase your relationships with the people who are dear to you.3,4,5,6 You are also less likely to get stressed or depressed and will engage in fewer negative coping behaviors, such as substance abuse. Acknowledging the positive aspects in your life can be challenging; particularly, when your mind focuses or holds on to uncomfortable and painful emotions like sadness, guilt, depression and fear.
As part of your evening ritual to retire to bed and go to sleep, write about 3 aspects in your life for which you experienced gratitude. Keeping a gratitude journal will help you increase your life satisfaction and reduce painful feelings like anxiety and depression.7
LEARNED: Every day you have experiences, situations and people that teach you something about life or yourself. Whether you are learning from a school teacher, professor, friend or simply a life experience, you have boundless opportunities and moments during which you learn something new, if you meet each experience with an attitude of curiosity, openness, and non-judgmentally. Whether it’s a new book, skill or sage advice and counsel from someone who you meet during your day or simply an experience during which you learn something new about yourself, taking in and recognizing that you have learned something new will help to enhance your level of engagement with life.
According to the PERMA model developed by the father of Positive Psychology, Martin Seligman, Ph.D., and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ph.D., a Positive psychologist, engagement with life and actively immersing yourself in your experiences leads to a state of flow and is part of the Good Life.8,9 Being in a state of flow leads to greater enjoyment, improves your performance and self-efficacy. When you keep a G.L.A.D. journal, write about something that you learned during your day.
ACHIEVED: You probably do not remember most of the experiences in your life because they occur mindlessly without your full conscious awareness. You are; however, much more likely to remember the events which resulted in a sense of accomplishment and success. Achieving small goals each day, such as reading for an hour, walking for 30 minutes, or writing 2 pages for your new book will help you to identify your strengths and move forward in your life by taking consistent action when life circumstances are challenging for you. The sense of accomplishment and success will enhance your self-esteem, engagement with life and help you to appreciate yourself. As your self-efficacy improves, you will be more resilient in the face of painful or difficult life situations.10 As part of your G.L.A.D journal, take note of any goals that you achieved during your day and celebrate each success not matter how small in may seem to you.
DELIGHTED: In your pursuit of authentic happiness, keeping note of the positive emotions that you experienced during your day is important. When you begin your G.L.A.D. journal make sure that you notice and savor every experience during your day that you were delighted by and enjoyed. This is very different from the pleasure that you experience from fulfilling basic bodily needs like hunger, sleep and sex, the companionship of your family and friends or time spent with nature. Being delighted and enjoyment arise from the pursuit of stimulating activities in which you use your unique strengths and contribute to something greater than yourself such as when you volunteer your time helping those in need at a shelter home or teach young children at your local church because these activities allow you to express your compassion and gift for teaching others.
To your health and success,
Dr. Sandoval
To learn more about how working with a psychologist and holistic health coach can help you to enhance your health and well-being, call or email Dr. Sandoval to schedule a free consultation.
- Fredrickson, BF and Joiner, T. “Positive Emotions Trigger Upward Spirals toward Emotional Well-Being.” Psychological Science, (2002). 13(2), 172-175.
- Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. New York: Free Press.
- Algoe, SB, Fredrickson, BL, and Gable, SL. “The social functions of the emotion of gratitude via expression.” Emotion, (2013) 13(4), 605-609.
- Emmons, RA and McCullough, ME. “Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (2003) 84(2), 377-389.
- Gordon, AM, Impett, EA, Kogan, A, Oveis, C, and Keltner, D. “To have and to hold: Gratitude promotes relationship maintenance in intimate bonds. “ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2012) 03(2) 257-274.
- Grant, A. M.; Gino, F. “A little thanks goes a long way: Explaining why gratitude expressions motivate prosocial behavior.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (2010) 98(6), 946-955.
- Lyubomirsky,S, Dickerhoof, R, Boehm, JK, Sheldon, KM. “Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: An experimental longitudinal intervention to boost well-being.” Emotion, (2011)11(2), 391-402.
- Seligman, M.E.P. (2011). Flourish. New York:Free Press.
- Csikszentmihalyi, M (2008). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
- Salanova, M, Llorens, S, and Schaufeli, WB. “Yes, I Can, I Feel Good, and I Just Do It!” On Gain Cycles and Spirals of Efficacy Beliefs, Affect, and Engagement.” Journal of Applied Psychology, (2010) 60 (2), 255-285.
The information, published and/or made available through the www.drjosesandoval.com website, is not intended to replace the services of a physician, nor does it constitute a physician-patient relationship. This blog is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should not use the information in this post for diagnosing or treating a medical or health condition. You should consult a physician in all matters relating to your health, particularly in respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. Any action on the reader’s part in response to the information provided in this blog is at the reader’s discretion.
