David J.
Pollay
Read David's bio and previous columns
July 23, 2007
Let Positive
Triggers Turn on Your Best Self
One day last year I
was sitting in my office by myself and I wasn’t feeling good. Yes, it’s
true. I research, write and speak about Positive Psychology, but I admit
it. I wasn’t having a good day.
Here’s my first
question: Where do you look when you’re feeling bad? Most of us look
down. And that’s what I was doing in my office, I was looking down at
the floor.
And then I started
laughing! I realized that Ariela and Eliana, my two- and three-year-old
little girls, had put stickers all over my shoes. Somehow they slipped
them on when I was kissing my wife Dawn goodbye before I left the house
that morning. Just thinking about my little girls slipping stickers on
my shoes without my knowing made me laugh. But then I laughed even
harder when I thought, “Where had I been all morning with stickers stuck
all over my shoes?”
It was at that moment
I got it. The stickers my little girls had put on my shoes were a
positive trigger for me. They instantly made me feel good.
So here's my second
question: Where do you look when you're feeling good? You look up! And
that's what I did in my office. I looked up and my day was reset. I had
a second chance to make my day a good one. I was experiencing positive
emotion.
Research studies from
around the world have confirmed the power of positive emotion. Positive
psychology researcher Barbara Fredrickson at the University of North
Carolina, best known for her “Broaden and Build Theory of Positive
Emotion,” found in her research that positive emotions widen your
attention, increase your intuition and increase your resilience to
adversity. Alice Isen, a psychology researcher at Cornell University,
demonstrated that when you experience positive emotion, you are more
kind, generous and helpful. Isen also found that you’re more creative
and better able to solve problems requiring “ingenuity and innovation.”
Richard Davidson, a neuropsychology researcher at the University of
Wisconsin, discovered that positive emotions help boost your immune
system. And at least three studies have shown that there is a strong
connection between a longer life and experiencing frequent positive
emotion.
Here's my takeaway.
If you are being chased by a bear in the forest, you should feel plenty
of negative emotion! As my grandmother used to say, "Run like the
dickens!" Otherwise, positive emotions help you think better and help
you build
better
relationships with others. People prefer to be around curious
and creative people, more than around people who always seem to be
running away from bears!
And I’ll bet, if you
ask the people in your life, they’ll tell you that when you’re
experiencing positive emotion, you do better work, you’re a better
leader, you’re a better spouse and you’re a better friend. I know that
I’m a better dad to two little girls when I’m experiencing positive
emotion.
So what are your
positive triggers? What makes you smile? What makes you laugh? What puts
you in a creative mood? What triggers your
passion,
excitement and hope? For some of us it's looking at pictures of our
loved ones.
Some of us listen to a favorite song. Others go for a quick walk, or do
a little dance. Some read a short, funny story. Others remind themselves
of their goals. Take a moment to think about the things that trigger
your positive emotions.
Think of it this way.
When you enter a dark room, what do you do? You reach for the light
switch. Because you know when you flip it, just like that, you’ll have
light.
So what's your light
switch? What turns on your positive emotions? What positive triggers
will help you look up when you're feeling down?
Need some stickers?
David J.
Pollay is the creator of
The Law of the Garbage Truck™.
Mr. Pollay writes the
Monday Morning Momentum Blog
each week. He is a syndicated columnist
with the North Star Writers
Group, creator and host of
The Happiness Answer™
television program, and an internationally sought after speaker.
Mr.
Pollay’s book, Beware of Garbage Trucks!™, is due out later this year. Mr. Pollay is the
founder and president of the consulting and seminar organization,
The Momentum Project.
© 2007
David J. Pollay. Distributed by North Star Writers Group. May not be
republished without permission.
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