Step One: Find the good in what is.
The whole idea behind Pathological Positivity is that there are up sides and down sides to everything. What is, is always between better and worse. It could always be better than it is now, and it could always be worse. No matter what. A key to learning how to develop positive attitude is to put yourself in position to see the good in what is, and be grateful for it, especially when it is hard or painful. Depression is one of the natural results of seeing the bad in what is. Happiness is the result of seeing the good in what is, no matter what.
Step Two: Anticipate and imagine good things to come.
Whatever is in the future doesn’t exist yet, because we haven’t created it yet or it hasn’t happened yet. Do we know for sure what is coming? Not really. Sure, we have some good guesses at times, but we don’t know for sure. Will it be better than what we already have? Will it be worse? Who knows? Because we don’t know for sure, we imagine what is coming. When we imagine better things to come, we feel better. Anxiety is the result of anticipating or imagining worse things to come. Happiness is enhanced when we expect good things to come.
Step Three: Practice, practice, practice.
This step is the answer to the famous question, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” It is also a fitting conclusion to these steps. Our mind develops neural pathways. These neural pathways are the cruise control or auto-pilot that drives our behavior, especially with things that are repeated or practiced. Whatever we practice we get better at. If we have had a negative or pessimistic attitude for a while, and if we have practiced that attitude either intentionally or because we didn’t really see any other choice, it will take some repeated practice to replace that neural pathway with a new one. I suggest the Pathological Positivity Prescription as a protocol for how to develop positive attitude. Our new positive attitude replaces the old negative version and immediately upgrades our life.
Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. ~ John D. Rockefeller
Whatever is in the future doesn’t exist yet, because we haven’t created it yet or it hasn’t happened yet. Do we know for sure what is coming? Not really. Sure, we have some good guesses at times, but we don’t know for sure. Will it be better than what we already have? Will it be worse? Who knows? Because we don’t know for sure, we imagine what is coming. When we imagine better things to come, we feel better. Anxiety is the result of anticipating or imagining worse things to come. Happiness is enhanced when we expect good things to come.
Step Three: Practice, practice, practice.
This step is the answer to the famous question, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” It is also a fitting conclusion to these steps. Our mind develops neural pathways. These neural pathways are the cruise control or auto-pilot that drives our behavior, especially with things that are repeated or practiced. Whatever we practice we get better at. If we have had a negative or pessimistic attitude for a while, and if we have practiced that attitude either intentionally or because we didn’t really see any other choice, it will take some repeated practice to replace that neural pathway with a new one. I suggest the Pathological Positivity Prescription as a protocol for how to develop positive attitude. Our new positive attitude replaces the old negative version and immediately upgrades our life.
Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. ~ John D. Rockefeller
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