Positive thinking …
This morning I listened to Radio 4's The Life Scientific Jim Al-Khalili talking to Magician and Professor of Psychology, Richard Wiseman about how to spot a liar and why some people are luckier than others ... but it was about so much more! Everyone needs to listen!
Apparently, if you want to distinguish fact from fiction you should listen not watch ... so radio, not TV or video, is where you need to be. The reason for this is that visual cues distract us from what is being said, we become overwhelmed with visual information, and good liars can control their body language more easily than their voice. It is rather sad that Richard has also shown that it is those closest to us, who we know best, who are most able to deceive us!
So, are some people born lucky or is it a mindset that can be learnt? Richard has written a book 'The Luck Factor' ... I must read that! Are the lucky people always in the right place at the right time? Well, No!! People largely create their own luck or bad luck according to their mindset ... if you change the mindset of 'unlucky' people to think and behave like a lucky person, could their luck be changed? In his book, he explains that being lucky is a skill that can be learnt!
Richard has put science into self-help books, scientifically comparing techniques to see what works and what doesn't. He has found that 'unlucky' people are more anxious, have a more focused attentional spotlight and don't see the opportunities in the world around them. Whereas the 'lucky' people have a wider attentional spotlight, see the opportunities and are not afraid to move forward.
You really need to listen to hear all the scenarios and research! Richard explains how bad things happen to all of us but we look on them differently, react differently and think we are either lucky or unlucky ... our mindset is different. This can be changed! The 'unlucky' people need to find a way to widen their attentional spotlight and need to be open to opportunities and be optimistic and trust intuition.
Positive psychology is not all about expecting the best, it is recognising that people have the potential to change and giving them the tools to make changes as effectively as possible. Everyone needs to understand what makes them unhappy and adopt the tools that can make them reshape that.
Can we all become lucky then? Probably not, but we can help ourselves. Richard believes that it is important to teach children the fundamentals of positive psychology and how to cope with the life that is coming their way; how to be happier and luckier in life and the skills to help. He also talks about the 'gratitude intervention' where at the end of each day you write down a gratitude for the day, and focus on that when you go to sleep; across the board, this affects happiness.
Listen to the programme here. Let me know what you think about positive thinking, have you changed the way you deal with the trials and tribulations in life?