What we're listening to
Dax Shepard is an author, actor, comedian and husband to Kirsten Bell. He has a podcast out where he “explores other people’s stories and celebrates, above all, the challenges and setbacks that ultimately lead to growth and betterment.”
The episode that I listened to was with Tal Ben-Shahar, who is an American and Israeli professor and author in the areas of positive psychology, organizational psychology and leadership.
There were a few things that stood out for me in this episode. One clarifier was an explanation of what positive psychology is. Ben-Shahar explained it as exploring a situation with the question of “what is going well here?” rather than “let’s all just think happy thoughts”.
One way that he speaks about changing our mindset sot hat it is more positive is in how we argue with our spouses. Ben-Shahar suggests that you stop and tell each other what you appreciate about them in the middle of a discussion - even if it is that you can scream at each other. The idea here is that you change your pattern of arguing and remind yourselves of the bigger picture, and why your spouse is worth arguing with and for.
In the podcast they discuss the idea that changing your perspective so that you focus on the positives can help you:
broaden and grow your perspective and outlook on life
build resilience
find meaning and purpose
create a healthier relationship with work, relationships and yourself
The goal of thinking positively and pursuing happiness is not the avoidance of pain, discomfort or sadness though. It is finding a way through those circumstances so that you achieve the benefits listed above and discover the fullness of life.
Some of the practical ways that this podcast suggests you can begin to build a positive perspective in life are to practice the following:
journal each night before you go to bed
allow yourself to cry and feel your emotions rather than avoid them
talk to the people in your life face-to-face about the stuff that matters
read a biography - Ben-Shahar shared that while he has even written a self-help book, the best self-help books are actually biographies because you can see how real people faced real adversity and survived.
We are always on the look out for books, movies, podcasts or other material to help you go from surviving to thriving. If you have something you’d like to share with us that you think would be helpful to our general community, please email lisa@vitalitycollective.ca.
If you are interested in listening to this podcast click here. If you would be interested in learning more about getting some help with learning how to develop a more positive perspective in your life, you can contact us through the box below.
We hope that this review has been helpful.