You have heard about personalized medicine – What about personalized positivity?

I find it exciting that we live in a time where advances in science have led to understanding the need for personalized medicine —because we’re all different.  We’re even seeing initial findings in the study of nutrition that have led to understanding the need for a personalized healthy diet — because we’re all different.  AND advances in Positive Psychology have led to understanding the need for personalized strategies for greater happiness and positivity — because we’re all different. 

Since my background’s in science, I like to tell people that we all need to “experiment” with the different strategies from Positive Psychology and find what works for us.  My favorite practice might not be a good fit for someone else.  The gratitude journaling your best friend loves might now work for you.  The visualization exercise that’s made such a difference for you might do nothing for your partner.  

After learning and trying many different practices, I’ve found that three of my favorite daily go-to “exercises” are:

• Taking several slow, deep breaths when I’m feeling anxious
• Smiling with my eyes to boost my mood
• Sharing 3 good things from my day to get better at noticing the good

There are many factors that can affect how well something resonates with us, like our personality, our lifestyle, our values, our past, etc.  Studies show that we need to pick a strategy and then try it for a week or two to see if we like it.  If it’s rewarding, fun or impactful, it’s easier to keep going.  If we stick with it and repeat it often, we can actually create new connections in our brain that have a lasting impact on our ability to be more positive, and ultimately, on our quality of life.  

Take a look at some of these ideas to choose from and try an experiment this week. 

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Tina Hallis, Ph.D. is Chief Positivity Officer of The Positive Edge, a company dedicated to helping people and organizations increase their positivity to improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures. She is certified in Positive Psychology, an authorized partner for Everything DiSC®, and a Professional Member of the National Speaker’s Association.