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| c. kluwermediationblog.com |
The day didn’t start out well. I hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
I was groggy and a little dim witted. It seemed as though customers were vying
in a contest for the most ridiculous requests. One by one, they topped each
other.
First there was the lady who came in by herself with orders
for her whole office, of which there were 5 Jennifers. [It made writing names
on the cup interesting]. Each was minutely detailed. Oh, and she didn’t have a
cart or anyone to help her carry.
There was the man who truly couldn’t comprehend the fact
that we don’t have an oven to heat his scone in, that I seriously began to
wonder if it was I, who was being unreasonable.
Having to explain the new policy to disappointed and a few
disgruntled customers throughout the entire morning did little to add to the overall positive morale.
I’ve always thought that the power of positive thinking was
wishful thinking at best, and crap at worst. I thought that if a situation is
bad, there is nothing wrong with saying so. It’s the only way I knew of to
trouble-shoot.
As it turns out, my opinion of positive thinking was steeped
in biology. Our brains are hard-wired to focus on the problems. Looking for the
bright spot in the middle of negativity is counter-intuitive. It’s not natural.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that positive thinking
actually strengthens the brain, as exercise stretches and strengthens my other
muscles. It’s a way to build brain muscle! As with any exercise, you have to
train it. By practicing gratitude, the brain produces neurotransmitters that brighten
the mind.
So what are some ways we can flex the mind? By practicing
gratitude. Next time you are In the middle of a problem, stop. [don’t worry,
you have time], and be grateful for the things that ARE going right. Be
thankful that it’s not 100 times worse.
By changing our focus to positive things, we can change our outlook
drastically.
Neuroscientist, Rick Hanson, says “Research suggests
that when people practice gratitude, they experience a general alerting and
brightening of the mind, and that’s probably correlated with more of the
neurotransmitter norepinephrine.”
He
cites an interesting study to support his findings.
“When college students
deeply in love are shown a picture of their sweetheart, their brains become
more active in the caudate nucleus, a reward center of the brain. As the mind
changes—that rush of love, that deep feeling of happiness and reward—correlates
with activation of a particular part of the brain. When they stop looking at that
picture of their sweetheart, the reward center goes back to sleep.”
It works the other way as well. By fretting and worrying,
our brain produces unhealthy levels of the hormone cortisol, which
only makes a stressful situation worse.
Need some ideas of things to focus on
in the middle of trying situations?
• Make a gratitude list
• Think of ways you can help someone
out
• Sing Nothing’s Gonna Stop us Now, by Starship
You’re bound to be in a better mood
in no time.
c. 2012
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