Positive Psychology P2

Positive Psychology P2

Outline

Premise of the course

1. Bridge building (between school and society)
2. Change is possible (how)
3. Internal factors are more important (our own perception to the world)
4. Human nature needs to be obeyed
5. Happiness is a moral claim, but not the end

• Democratizing excellence: Studying the best then applying it to the rest of us

• Small group of persons can have great influence The power of one

• Changes being from them, then spread, expand (connection between people) Assimilate

• Human network, Exponential growth-> often underestimate

• Smiles are contagious

• Change -> which direction?

Premise 3. internal factors vs. external factors

• Difficult to change based on external factors

• (objective measure method = subjective) valuable √

• Ecstatic

• Tenure or other great gain / loss, the happiness level goes back to their base level 6 month later (when beyond the basic needs) => External fact makes a little difference (except some extreme circumstance like democracy and oppression, homeless…)

• Lower the expectation isn’t effective in long term (problem isn’t the level, but the right/wrong expectation)

• Our status of mind

• Transformation

Premise 4. (the most important)

• Human nature: change / obey

• Constrained / not constrained human nature

  • Constrained: Human nature can’t be changed, flaws are inevitable. accept and channel them towards the good using institutions and systems (capitalism)
  • Unconstrained: have solution to the flaws, can be perfected. Goal: to change our nature to better it. (communism)
  • In this course: constrained -> Understand, then make the best use: channel the nature.

• Topic: The permission to be human

• The most important pillar of wellbeing and happiness

• Constantly high ×

• The freedom to experience these painful emotion (refusal)

  • New born baby √

• Facade become important, being valued constantly ×

• Pay a lot of prices (energy level, wellbeing, happiness, success)

• Need a space where we give ourselves the permission to be human. Unconditional acceptance

• Envy the baby, enjoy and celebrate the same time

  • Paradox of being the human,

• Suppress a natural phenomenon, just intensify it (

  • Paradoxical intension

• Accept the law of gravity -> rely on it and make creation

• Painful emotion = human nature = physical nature

• Has to obey the law of nature

• Great deception (how are you doing)

  • Something wrong with us if we show the real poor feeling

• Great depression

• a space where we give ourselves the permission to be human: with our friends, family and ourselves

• not resignation, but active acceptance: some cannot, but some can and ought to be changed

• ABC

  • Affect – emotion
  • Behavior – action
  • Cognition - thoughts

• “Negative” emotions are our nature, are neutral

• Envy, but choose to be generously and benevolently

• Cognitively refine

• Be true to the reality

• Reality psychology

• Psycho immune systems get stronger when we give ourselves the permission to be human

  • Recover from the painful emotions

• Visceral emotional level: the really means of giving ourselves the permission to be human?

• Just breath, and accept and ignore all the thoughts

  • Only experiencing the life

• Give ourselves and others the permission.

Response paper

• As a living creature, the most basic need is being balanced. Everything should be controlled in a normal range using the negative feedback regulation, our emotion and our nature included. It may cause some inevitable flaw and create some paradox on a higher level, but “It’s a good sign of being normal rather than being dead or a psychopath”.

• Just imagine that if we never felt lazy, we might work all the week constantly and died in fatigue. Actually, keeping excitement using some drugs isn’t a new thing and they often have terrible consequences. We are not robots.

• However, many of us may blame ourselves for not keep staying in the best condition, like feeling a strong regret when the day is over and we return to the dormitory and think that I have wasted such a lot of time on entertainments or trivial matters and I have to get a high efficiency and achieve a lot tomorrow with determination almost every day.

• It’s because lazy is one of our own natural flaws. Our total attention and energy are limited and maybe we can only stay highly focus in 5 hours or less. The constant and regretting thought of exceed our limits is often vain and only cost us a lot of prices like energy level, happiness and leave us with more pressure and depression.

• But it’s not the excuse of giving up ourselves and having no control on anything. Actually, during holidays, if we keep being lazy and only have entertainments like playing games and watching TV series all day long, we may get tired and bored soon. The leisure seems to become a tight job. It seems paradoxical but it’s our nature keeping ourselves balanced.

• Our flaws in our nature are also part of us, they keep us to be “normal” and alive. So, obey the law of nature “is not resignation, but active acceptance”. It’s about “giving ourselves the permission to be human” and having confidence in accepting the whole self. Based on this premise, our goal should be “channeling the nature” to “make the best use of them” and doing our best in every condition. We should be recognizing that some cannot, but some can and ought to be changed. … (channel: “Envy, but choose to be generously and benevolently”, motivate you to strive…)