by Lynn Soots | June, 2016 | Classroom Reflections
You may not be able to control every situation and its outcome, but you can control your own attitude and how you deal with it. Before taking Positive Psychology my thoughts about the course were: that positive psychology is about thinking “happy thoughts”. An Ah-Ha moment for me was learning about…..how much control I have of MY happiness. People experience hard times in their life on a daily basis. Four years ago, I thought my world was destroyed. My husband lay in the hospital bed, lifeless. He suffered his first stroke at the age of 38 years old. He could no longer talk or communicate with me like we were used to. He suffered from aphasia, which is a condition that short circuits the brain and does not allow the person to communicate freely through oral or written communication. Two days later, he suffered a second stroke that left him paralyzed on his right side. My husband could no longer talk and now walk. I cried and cried as I sat in that hospital room as he lay in the bed. What was I going to do? He was the strongest man I knew and my superman was now disabled. Using the power of self-motivation and control in tough times Positive psychology is about being able to control your thoughts, feelings and emotions to find the strength to get better. I had to learn quickly that I was in control. I was in control of my thoughts and actions that could help my husband get better. By understanding how strong my thoughts, feelings and emotions were, I was able...
by Lynn Soots | June, 2016 | Classroom Reflections
Love Yourself “Stop hating yourself for everything you aren’t and start loving yourself for everything that you are”. Before Taking Positive Psychology my thoughts about the course were: Before taking this course I was really thinking that “man I was a positive person already what would make me even more positive?”. I didn’t think I had to change, and boy after taking this class I learned a lot about myself. Finding a new self-appreciation An Ah-Ha moment for me was learning about….. Myself. I think often times we don’t love ourselves, we don’t trust ourselves, don’t accept ourselves and who we are and really an Ah-ha moment was realizing that we are to hard on ourselves sometimes. We need to love ourselves , take care ourselves, and enjoy the little the things we have an appreciate it. I feel like we get so caught up in society where we need to go to school , go to college, get a good job, and provide for our family, but that’s not how life is we need to live in the moment not in the past or the future , but the present. Enjoy the things you have and appreciate the beauty in front of you. Life is too short not to appreciate what you got. Happy to be me Positive Psychology opened my eyes to… I learned not to be so hard on myself. You have to first love yourself before loving anyone else. I feel at times our standards and who we look up to is not realistic, and that we shouldn’t put...
by Lynn Soots | June, 2016 | Classroom Reflections
“You never fail until you stop trying.”- Albert Einstein Before Taking Positive Psychology my thoughts about the course were to be open-minded about what Positive Psychology had to offer. After taking Psychology last semester I was excited to see what this course was going to be about. Reading the title for the first time I knew that it had to do with bringing positivity in our life, but I did not know how. The only thing I knew before taking Positive Psychology was that I needed to come into the classroom with a clear mind and open up to what the course had to offer. Finding a new meaning of resilience: bounce back An Ah-Ha moment for me was learning about resilience. Since serving in the military, resiliency was something that was always mentioned in a classroom or even in the shop. I knew that resiliency meant that you are able to bounce back from a difficult situation and you were able to perform your duties as a soldier or supervisor to the fullest. One thing that I was able to go in-depth about resilience is that it wasn’t just about bouncing back, rather it was about growing stronger as a person. Positive Psychology opened my eyes to accept the circumstances and become a stronger person. Bouncing back and growing stronger One thing that I learned about resiliency is that it’s not just about bouncing back, but rather I was growing stronger as a person from whatever it was that I was facing. Resilience is something that I hold deep in my heart because no matter what the situation I...
by Lynn Soots | May, 2016 | Strengths
Usually a little J-Lo will do the trick. I take her Let’s Get Loud literally, crank the stereo and wonder how her “block” could ever have resembled mine. But though Jenny’s love might not cost a thing, deep down I know my own self-neglect might be costing me dearly. And as I pull into my driveway and the synthesized drumbeats fall silent, the whispers roll back in. But I, the daughter of fear and procrastination, brush them off as the wind. I ignore the persistent clues and masterfully stuff my consciousness down with Netflix and comfort foods. Later when my stomach gurgles uncontrollably I chalk it up to the extra ladle of gravy I poured mindlessly over my fries rather than the undigested truth of a life unresolved. Listening to your inner-self I know what needs to be done but instead I pull on my barely worn Lululemon pants and go for an impromptu jog, legitimizing my exorbitant exercise-wear as though suddenly inspired to be fit and fabulous, as though….well, as though that ever happened. But though the endorphins and calf cramps might momentarily distract me from myself, my heart rate settles and I hear it pounding again, my breathing labored not by hypoxia but by unfinished business and wishes unfulfilled. My body murmurs what I already know. It hums of facts I have ignored, words I have not spoken, feelings I refuse let go and decisions I have yet to make. It speaks of leaps of faith I know I need to take but have convinced myself don’t matter. Germinating below:Finding inner-strength to grow It’s not the wind...
by Lynn Soots | May, 2016 | Positive Psychology, Uncategorized
Some of you may have come to realise that one of the latest crazes in the western world is the “pay it forward” concept of conducting random acts of kindness (or RAKS). A RAK, essentially, is when somebody does something kind for someone else (typically a stranger). The person who received the RAK then does something kind for someone else and so forth, “paying it forward”, so the kindness continues on and on. The “pay it forward” notion helps connect and unite people closer together and encourage collectivism (working together for “the common good”) over individualism (a social outlook that emphasises the worth of the individual over community groups). In a predominately individualistic society where segregation dominates, this is greatly needed to help connect communities of people to one other, increasing loyalty and group awareness. The biology of acts of kindness It has also been found that RAKs actually have a biological benefit to us. Whenever an act of kindness is conducted, witnessed or received it produces a flood of happy chemicals to the brains of the people involved. These chemicals include oxytocin (not to be mistaken with the dangerous narcotic OxyContin) and dopamine. Oxytocin has been affectionately dubbed the “love drug” and is the same chemical that is released in the female brain after she has intercourse which causes her to “fall in love”, even with less desirable males. It is also the same chemical that gets discharged after a 20 second hug between people. Ultimately, this means that random acts of kindness make us feel loving, friendly, caring and affectionate towards each other! The other chemical involved...
