WELCOME TO THE POSITIVITY PARTY. <3.
It's okay if you feel like April Ludgate. You're invited to the party as well.
Being negative is fun sometimes, I get it. Misery loves company. Seriously, I'll be first to admit that I LOVE sipping on wine and complaining to my best friends about anything and everything from school, to men, to being a poor graduate student. But I also cannot stress enough the power of positivity in actually achieving successes in our daily lives. If you envision yourself succeeding and believe that you have the necessary skills, often times you will perform better than if you decided you were a failure or mediocre person. So what are some positive psychology interventions that I like to use/hope to use when I'm actually an experienced counselor? SO glad you asked.
DISCLAIMER: Positive psychology interventions aren't going to work on everyone. For example, someone who is dealing with clinical depression may not find it feasible to engage in these positive thinking interventions. It's incredibly important that the client display openness and readiness to engage in interventions that will be most effective considering their contextual background and experiences.
1) Three good things in life - Oh, hey! This is something I actually do in my own life. So believe it, I do practice what I preach. This intervention involves writing down 3 good or positive things that happened each day. Currently, I journal everyday something good that happened each day and something that I am positive about in my future. And my list is attached to my bathroom mirror so I'm forced to look at it when I wash my hands, brush my teeth, etc. And I can honestly say that it makes a difference. This causes me to be intentional in acknowledging the good things that happen in addition to instilling hope and a vision for the future. Be to be real, it was really difficult when I first started doing it. But now? I find myself thinking throughout the day "Oh! I can write this on my positivity list tonight!"
2) Best possible selves - As a self diagnosed over thinker, I have a tendency to spend way too much time thinking about all the bad things that could happen. But what if we focused on what our lives would be like if we succeeded in our endeavors? In this technique, you are encouraged to write or discuss what your life would look like if things happened as favorably as possible. How would you feel? How would you spend your time? Who would you surround yourself with? In short, envisioning success makes it seem more feasible, thus encouraging and motivating the individual to place effort and focus on their vision for the future.
2) Best possible selves - As a self diagnosed over thinker, I have a tendency to spend way too much time thinking about all the bad things that could happen. But what if we focused on what our lives would be like if we succeeded in our endeavors? In this technique, you are encouraged to write or discuss what your life would look like if things happened as favorably as possible. How would you feel? How would you spend your time? Who would you surround yourself with? In short, envisioning success makes it seem more feasible, thus encouraging and motivating the individual to place effort and focus on their vision for the future.
3) Signature strengths - Now this intervention I actively do with my adolescents quite often. I give my teens paper and tell them to write down 5 positive personality traits they have. Some really struggle coming up with 5, others don't. This presents an opportunity to build up the self esteem of the individual by assisting them in coming up with 5 even though there are many more! The teens also end up contributing positive traits for their peers, which promotes group unity and feelings of belonging within the group. This intervention also presents an opportunity to discuss how we get ideas about whether or not we are smart, funny, loyal, outgoing, etc.
POSITIVITY PARTY IS A SUCCESS. Here's your party favor - try making mental note and journaling something positive or good that happens each day. And go back and read them when you are feeling down! If that doesn't help even just a little, maybe you actually ARE April Ludgate....which actually isn't terrible because I love her but you get the point.
http://www.psych-it.com.au/Psychlopedia/article.asp?id=406
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