Think Positive....for a Better Professional and Personal Life!

Positivism is a way of living, an attitude that could greatly enhance our personal and professional lives, adding meaning to all our encounters.

A wise friends once said, 'Life is not inherently meaningful. It is an abysmal void that we must fill up with meaning'. This means that at times we have to conduct ourselves (through work, friendships, and art) as if life is meaningful. By pretending, it becomes true.  it is an abysmal void that we must fill up with meaning, so even if somedays I do not believe, I must conduct myself (through work, through friendships, through art) as if life is meaningful. By pretending it, it becomes true. “Act as if you have faith and faith will be given to you”.
Let's not get too philosophical! Below are three ways in which you can do to improve your life...for the better! 1. Look to the future for a meaningful life. Research shows that we are happiest when think of the present, and whenever the present seems to be good for us. However, to achieve meaningness we need to think way ahead of our present, and focus more on our future. By bringing meaning to our lives, this is relating to a school of thought called 'prospective psychology'. Only by connecting the two - the present and our view of the future - can one find the greatest meaning, purpose, and happiness in life. 2. Detaching from work is a good thing...for most of us. Sonnentag has found that those who detach from work on a regular basis have a lower level of emotional exhaustion and higher life satisfaction. However, studies also show that for many of us, four weeks after a holiday, we feel at the same level of exhaustion as when we took the holiday.
Sonnentag says detachment from work seems especially important—not surprisingly—when job stressors are high. Indeed, the more time pressure employees feel, the less able they are to detach, which leads to a negative spiral of stress and rumination.  3. 'We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us'... ...said the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. This fit isn’t the same across the board: An assisted living facility that’s a good environmental fit for an elderly person may not be the best fit for an adolescent. A suburban neighborhood with little opportunity for impromptu social interaction may not be the best fit for a recent immigrant. 

When evaluating neighborhood livability and quality of life, environmental psychology has tended to focus on the negative—risks such as air pollution, traffic noise, and light pollution.

Notably, neighborhoods that have green and open outdoor spaces have been shown to reduce their inhabitants’ stress. This is reached by activities like exercise and gardening and by other walking activities that are afforded by green spaces lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and improve cognitive function. Another benefit of green spaces—especially in deprived communities—is the opportunity for social connection and greater feelings of safety. Whether as individuals or working together as groups, the presenters emphasized, we can affect our external environment and internal landscapes for the better.



Nikita Pisani at Muovo

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