Having a positive mindset comes with an unbelievable number of benefits, from better physical and mental health, to improved relationships and performance at work. If you’ve got a more negative bent, you’re really missing out on a lot.
Fortunately, my guest says it’s possible to shift into a more positive gear. Her name is Dr. Catherine Sanderson and she’s a professor of psychology at Amherst College. In her latest book, The Positive Shift, she highlights scores of studies that show how a positive mindset can make us healthier and happier, and how that mindset can be achieved. Today she shares those insights with us, beginning with debunking the idea that a positive outlook means being naively Pollyanna-ish in disposition. Catherine then walks us through what the research says about the surprisingly robust benefits of having a positive perspective which affect every area of your life. We then discuss specific tactics you can use to develop a more positive outlook, even if you have an inborn inclination towards being negative.
Show Highlights
- What does positivity actually look like? Is it a happy-go-lucky all the time?
- The physiological health benefits of positivity
- How our outlook impacts our relationships — both platonic and romantic
- How much of our general outlook and happiness is determined by genetics?
- So how can start truly shifting our mindset?
- How to reframe negative situations to make them beneficial
- Why being positive makes aging a much more enjoyable process
- What do you do if you find yourself in a negativity vortex that you can’t get out of?
- The influence of social media on our positivity/negativity
- Overriding our tendencies to negativity
- How do we manage our desire to compare ourselves to other people?
- The way your spending habits can change your outlook
- The importance of good relationships to your outlook in life
Resources/People/Articles Mentioned in Podcast
- How Reframing Builds Resilience
- The Importance of Developing a Growth Mindset
- Why Negativity is a Social Killer
- A Guide to Managing Your Depression
- Hardwiring for Happiness
- The Real Virtue of Thankfulness
- How Stress Can Be Good for You
- How to Manage Stress
- Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers
- Quit Catastrophizing
- Action Over Feelings
- How to Deal With Anxiety
- Fighting FOMO: 4 Questions to Kill the Fear of Missing Out
- Love Is All You Need
- How to Cut Toxic People From Your Life
Connect With Catherine
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The post Podcast #478: Mastering Mindset to Improve Happiness, Health, and Longevity appeared first on The Art of Manliness.