Obstacles to happiness often appear larger than they truly are during a
crisis. So if right now you're in crisis mode, due to the financial
meltdown, please keep in mind that you're seeing things through a
temporarily darker, blurrier lens. Nothing is ever as "fabulously good" or
as "crisis bad" as it first appears.
More good news: What goes down often bounces back higher -- when it comes
to bad moods. And you can actually be in charge of speeding up that bounce
back process.
It's like this: Psychological studies show that often the happy get happier
and the sad get sadder -- because of simmering brain temperatures -- also
known as "resonance."
Happy thoughts all share the same resonance in the brain -- and are shown
to naturally attract the memory of other happy thoughts -- also simmering
at the same happy "resonance."
Chances are you've witnessed this theory of resonance with guitars. You
know if you pluck the G string on one guitar, the G string on any nearby
guitar will have "sympathetic resonance" and start to vibrate as well!
If you haven't experienced this, check it out! It's very cool.
Well, memories are "tuned in" at specific frequencies, based on the
information they're encoded with--like "This is high-level happy
stuff" or "this is low-level miserable stuff."
Whatever resonance your present thoughts are simmering at ("high-level
happy" or "low-level miserable"), they'll attract memories of
similar information.
The result: When you're happy, a stream of positive thoughts ensues.
Ditto on simmering negative thoughts.
Yet more good news: Over time, negative brain resonances eventually simmer
back up to their normal, daily, even-keeled midlevel set zones. When they
do, that's when the feeling of "rebounding" kicks in.
So if lately you've been worried that you're never going to feel like
your normal self again, don't. You're biologically wired to return to
your normal midlevel mood.
Professor Richard Lucas, at Michigan State University, researched the
effects of bad and good times on mood permanence. He focused on a wide
range of people: from folks who won huge amounts of money to those who
experienced debilitating injuries. His research showed all people initially
reacted strongly to the good or bad in their lives. However, eventually
nearly everyone returned to their former general happiness level.
Even more good news: His studies showed that post-distressing (as opposed
to traumatic) times, many people actually reported rebounding to a
higher-than-usual good mood. He attributes this bounce-back-higher effect
to people appreciating the good in their life after suffering the bad.
The result: Your renewed focus on appreciating all the good things in your
life retrieves even more simmering positive thought memories . . . and
upward your mood does go!
Your Bounce Back Assignment:
Create a Gratitude Journal. Record: Who do you love? What do you love? What
do you love to do? Psychologists find that people who keep weekly gratitude
journals end up feeling happier, more energetic, and more optimistic than
those who don't. So write down those people, things, and experiences that
bring you joy, and keep your brain resonating at a happy temperature.
***
For more bounce back tips visit: www.notsalmon.com and check out best
selling author Karen Salmansohn's BOUNCE BACK BOOK by clicking
here...