Week 6 Science of Happiness- Synthesis
Learning to monitor patterns of thought in the mind is a valuable skill often used on the path of cultivating happiness. The awareness of toxic thought patterns can save an individual from habits of mind including ruthless perfectionism, materialism, and social comparison. Toxic thought patterns have shown to lead to greater levels of anxiety and depression, decreased self-contentment, and less overall satisfaction with life. Moving away from these patterns of thought leads one closer to optimistic views and self-compassion. Optimism, or an overall positive outlook on life, has shown to offer high levels of subjective well-being and increased Vagus nerve activation. Subjects who actively participated in optimism and self-compassion practices reported greater feelings of happiness and physical health. While engaging in self-compassion, individuals can remove their fear of failure. This shift motivates greater productivity, creativity, and interpersonal connection.
Themes of brain training, self-compassion, and optimism all tie closely into what it means to balance the mind and seek greater happiness. When an individual learns to dictate and control how they treat themselves and their mind in times of happiness and more importantly in times of stress and anxiety, they are better able to conduct themselves in their environment and handle all situations with a sense of balance. Self-compassion is the alternative method of thought to a harsh and restrictive thought pattern that often works strongly against building happiness as it fosters high levels of guilt, anxiety, and stress. By shifting the mind and adopting a compassionate pattern of thought, one can improve their self-perception and project compassion onto others.
How would you best go about teaching people to monitor patterns of thought? Where would you incorporate this information?
ReplyDeleteTeaching people to monitor patterns of thought can be tricky, as each individual struggles with different internal voices and ways of thinking. Especially for teens and kids in high level courses in schools, self-compassion can be hard to grasp. Often times kids believe that being tough on themselves is the best motivator. In reality, lacking self-compassion and being unable to regulate toxic thoughts is often detrimental to kid's mental health and can lead to consequences such as burnout or anxiety. I think we can begin to tackle this issue in schools, and by reminding kids that the way they treat and speaks to themselves is important and can/will impact their performance in school and their mental health.
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