NeuroPositivity
“NeuroPositivity” is what results when you increase the growth and stimulation of neuropathways in the brain that control positivity. We can liken it to a positive state of mind, but it really goes even further. It is a “positive state of being.”
The rationale for “NeuroPositivity” is simple: to increase your experience of personal well-being by increasing the positivity of your brain at a neuronal level.
Why is this important?
1. Your brain runs efficiently and easily on positivity. Your thinking and feeling faculties are sharper. You simply feel good.
2. You thrive at a cellular level and your entire body is programmed more toward wellness and well-being.
These two profound truths affect not only how you feel, but everything you do.
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Articles
NeuroMedia: Library of Articles & Resources
Letters Of Gratitude: Improving Well-Being Through Expressive Writing
By Steven M. Toepfer & Kathleen Walker
Journal Of Writing Research, March 1, 2009"...happiness is in part within our ability to manage. Earlier work supports the premise that individuals can sustain levels of happiness through volitional behavior. The current pilot study explored one such intentional activity – composing letters of gratitude. It was hypothesized that writing three letters of gratitude over time would enhance important qualities of subjective well-being in the author; happiness, life-satisfaction, and gratitude."
Read the full article at Journal Of Writing Research
Happiness Unpacked: Positive Emotions Increase Life Satisfaction by Building Resilience
By Michael Cohen, Barbara L. Fredrickson et al.
American Psychological Association, January 8, 2009"Positive emotions predicted increases in both resilience and life satisfaction. Negative emotions had weak or null effects and did not interfere with the benefits of positive emotions...Change in resilience mediated the relation between positive emotions and increased life satisfaction, suggesting that happy people become more satisfied not simply because they feel better but because they develop resources for living well."
Read the full article at American Psychological Association
First Person Plural
By Paul Bloom
Atlantic Magazine, November 1, 2008"An evolving approach to the science of pleasure suggests that each of us contains multiple selves—all with different desires, and all fighting for control. If this is right, the pursuit of happiness becomes even trickier. Can one self "bind" another self if the two want different things? Are you always better off when a Good Self wins? And should outsiders, such as employers and policy makers, get into the fray?"
Read the full article at Atlantic Magazine
Mirror Neurons
By Marco Iacoboni (adapted)
Society for Neuroscience, November 1, 2008"Before the discovery of mirror neurons, scientists generally believed that our brains use logical thought processes to interpret and predict other people’s actions. Now, however, many have come to believe that we understand others not by thinking, but by feeling. For mirror neurons appear to let us 'simulate' not just other people’s actions, but the intentions and emotions behind those actions."
Read the full article at Society for Neuroscience
This Is Your Brain On Bliss
By Mathieu Ricard
Yes Magazine, October 31, 2008"After 2,000 years of practice, Buddhist monks know that one secret to happiness is simply to put your mind to it."
Read the full article at Yes Magazine
For the Brain, Remembering is Like Reliving
By Benedict Carey
The New York Times, September 4, 2008"Scientists have for the first time recorded individual brain cells in the act of summoning a spontaneous memory, revealing not only where a remembered experience is registered but also, in part, how the brain is able to recreate it..."
Read the full article at The New York Times
Open Hearts Build Lives: Positive Emotions Through Loving-Kindness Meditation
By Barbara L. Fredrickson, Michael A. Cohn et al.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, June 3, 2008"This discussion centers on how positive emotions are the mechanism of change and how loving-kindness meditation is an intervention strategy that produces positive emotions in a way that outpaces the hedonic treadmill effect."
Read the full article at Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Adapting To Life’s Slings And Arrows: Individual Differences In Resilience
By Barbara L. Fredrickson, Christian E. Waugh, Stephen F. Taylor
Science Direct, January 1, 2008"When anticipating a possible negative event, previous research has shown that a person’s response to the occurrence of the anticipated negative event will depend in part on their trait resilience—the ability to adapt to life’s ever-changing landscape and recover quickly from stressors (Block & Kremen, 1996) We propose that trait resilience is associated with this ability to efficiently regulate emotional resources, thereby leading to quick and efficient recovery when anticipated negative events do not occur."
Read the full article at Science Direct
VIDEO-Mathieu Ricard On The Habits Of Happiness
By Mathieu Ricard
TED.com, November 1, 2007"What is happiness, and how can we all get some? Biochemist turned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard says we can train our minds in habits of well-being, to generate a true sense of serenity and fulfillment."
Read the full article at TED.com
Is It Possible To Become Happier? (And If So, How?)
By Kennon M. Sheldon, Sonja Lyubomirsky
Social and Personal Psychology Compass, August 1, 2007"Although some theory suggests that it is impossible to increase one’s subjective well-being (SWB), our ‘sustainable happiness model’ (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005) specifies conditions under which this may be accomplished...However, the goals and activities must be of certain positive types, must fit one’s personality and needs, must be practiced diligently and successfully, must be varied in their timing and enactment, and must provide a continued stream of fresh positive experiences."
Read the full article at Social and Personal Psychology Compass
Seven Facts About the Brain That Incline The Mind To Joy
By Rick Hanson PhD
Wise Brain.org, January 1, 2007"The innate neurological circuitry of your mind poses a very real challenge: positive stimuli tend to roll through it while negative stimuli get flagged and captured and deferred to. But you can consciously override those tendencies in simple and effective ways each day, by focusing on positive experiences, valuing them, and helping them sink in."
Read the full article at Wise Brain.org
Positive Psychotherapy
By Martin E. P. Seligman, Tayyab Rashid, and Acacia C. Parks
American Psychologist, November 1, 2006"In its emphasis on troubles, psychology has done well in ameliorating a number of disorders but has seriously lagged behind in enhancing human positives. Mental health in the hands of talk therapy is all too often seen as the mere absence of symptoms."
Read the full article at American Psychologist
VIDEO-Dan Gilbert Asks, Why Are We Happy?
By Dan Gilbert
TED.com, September 1, 2006"Dan Gilbert, author of 'Stumbling on Happiness,' challenges the idea that we’ll be miserable if we don’t get what we want. Our 'psychological immune system' lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned."
Read the full article at TED.com
A Brain-Based Approach To Coaching
By David Rock, based on an interview with Jeffrey M. Schwartz MD
The International Journal Of Coaching In Organizations, April 2, 2006"This article introduces a theoretical foundation to coaching based on brain function. It highlights some of the current findings about the neuroscience of attention, insight, reflection and action, through interviews with a leading neuroscientist."
Read the full article at The International Journal Of Coaching In Organizations
Achieving Sustainable Gains In Happiness: Change Your Actions, Not Your Circumstances
By Sonja Lyubomirsky, Kennon M. Sheldon
Journal of Happiness Studies, March 1, 2006"Although attaining happiness is a nearly universal goal, surprisingly little research has focused on how happiness can be increased and then sustained. Three studies test predictions of a model (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005) positing that sustainable happiness is possible through intentional activity changes, more so than through circumstantial changes."
Read the full article at Journal of Happiness Studies