Positive thinking is wasted on the brain Life Date November 5, 2013 151 reading now Comments 53 Read later Life & Style reporter Seeing reality: Clear thinking allows for the mosaic of experience. Photo: Chad Baker It always seems astounding that those who seemingly have it all remain unsatisfied. We assume that, surely, once we realise certain aspirations in life any lurking sadness, loneliness or sense of inadequacy will disappear. Suddenly our lives will become as sparkly and pristine as the illusion itself. It can come as a rude awakening then that life doesnt work this way; that irrespective of achieving our image of happiness, success or the desirable life, shit still happens and pain still persists. The problem, perhaps, is that although perceiving a life where we are immune from suffering provides temporary relief, it puts a one-dimensional and ultimately disappointing spin on reality. Advertisement And this arguably is where the positive thinking, fake it til you make it, movement fails. Positive thinking … is usually wasted on the brain, says neuropsychologist at Berkeley University, Dr Rick Hanson, in his new book Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence. His reasoning is that our neurons fire and wire more on the negative. This is because, back in the day, our response to natural hazards and predators determined our survival. We needed to act and learn fast or die. Whereas, while positive experiences are all very nice, they did not affect our survival in the same way. The idea is that, for this reason, it is harder to make positive experiences stick neurally. So simply prescribing positive thinking or faking it until you theoretically make it is like sprinkling sugar on the surface of a reality that remains essentially the same. I know a lot of people who have this kind of positive, look on the bright side yappity yap, but deep down theyre very frightened, angry, sad, disappointed, hurt, or lonely. It hasnt sunk in. Think of all the people who tell you why the world is a good place, but theyre still jerks, Hanson told The Atlantic last week. I think positive thinkings helpful, but in my view, its not so much as positive thinking as clear thinking. I think its important to be able to see the whole picture, the whole mosaic of reality. Both the tiles that are negative, as well as the tiles that are neutral and positive. Its a sentiment that resonates with social researcher and author of The Good Life, Hugh Mackay. The pursuit of happiness can make us miserable, Mackay says. A lot of so-called positive psychologists are starting to rethink all this… There is light and shade, peaks and troughs. Regardless of how life affirming we are or how amazing our life actually is, there is no magic bullet, Mackay says. Youre still going to hit turbulence and experience mood swings. This is not a negative though, figuratively speaking. The tough stuff is often the better teacher – theres more to learn from pain and disappointment and sadness, he points out. Although realistic or clear thinking means not shying away from the sad stuff, it also means celebrating and allowing the good stuff to stick. And this is their point – that we need to allow the various facets of life to filter through. This is where Hanson makes the distinction between having a superficially positive thought and installing a positive experience. When people are having positive thinking or even most positive experiences, the person is not taking the extra 10, 20 seconds to heighten the installation into neural structure. By pausing to connect with and take in the beautiful, joyful moments, we begin to bring equilibrium back to the neural experience of life and how satisfying it can be at a deeper level. This, in turn, can help us cope with the tougher stuff life inevitably throws at us. Repeatedly internalise the sense of having our three core needs met: safety, satisfaction, and connection, Hanson suggests. By repeatedly internalising that self-sense, we essentially grow the neural substrates of experiencing that those needs are met, even as we deal with challenges, so that we become increasingly able to manage threats or losses or rejections without tipping into the red zone. The notion that we are not immune, yet able to cope with life in its entirety and enjoy it puts a different spin on the idea of having it all, albeit one that encompasses reality more clearly. The problem with privileging the positive is that life is going to throw everything at you and to be a fully functioning, well-rounded human, you have to have the full spectrum of emotion, Mackay says. Realistic thinking means to see it the way it is and deal with it, then when something good happens, enjoy it.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 09:47:20 +0000
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