How cool would it be if we could start each day by putting on a pair of glasses that tint and tilt the world in our favor? I’m not talking about about Pollyanna, rose colored type glasses which distort reality. But glasses that highlight our opportunities for growth, gratitude, resilience and joy while welcoming hard things because we know doing hard things is the route to our best selves. Well, we can. We all have these glasses, they're called intentions. By setting intentions each morning, making it a daily practice, we will influence our mental and physical health intensely.
Dr. Martin Seligman, the father of Positive Psychology, has had a massive influence on myself and everyone else who’s read his stuff. Positive Psychology promotes the role of intentional habits creating our well being. When we “learn optimism” we’re making the conscious choice to focus on, and bring about, positive outcomes. We will counteract learned negative biases and the victim mentality. (The story of the adult elephant who no longer tries to break the rope b/c it learned it wasn’t possible years ago when it was small) Setting positive morning intentions is Positive Psychology in practice.
Instead of waking up just in time to shower and get ready for the day’s responsibilities, all the while your inner chatter is sweating deadlines and meetings and unpleasant co-workers, get up 30 minutes earlier and enjoy the morning with your good friend Mind. Take a moment to pause, to breathe, to imagine the kind of day you want and how you want to show up. Seligman’s research shows us that this shift from focusing on stressors, to focusing on opportunities, reduces cortisol and over time improves both mental and physical health. Your day will be more enjoyable. Both for you and your annoying co-worker. You will find flow more easily and be more productive.
As just mentioned, putting on our morning intention glasses will benefit us mentally as well as physically. When we set positive morning intentions we’re setting ourselves up to make better decisions about our daily diet and activity. An intention of “I am grateful for my body. Today I’ll honor it by exercising and fueling it with nourishing foods and useful media” will align our actions and increase healthy decision making. We will honor our commitment to hit the gym at lunch and eat the lunch we brought from home instead of sitting in the car eating food handed to us from a window and doom scrolling our phone. We’ll actually feel the sensation of these decisions lowering our inflammation, bolstering our immune system, and increasing our quality of life for the long haul.
As I said, I love Dr. Seligman. He was the one that exposed me to these ideas initially, but he wasn’t first on the block. The Stoics were in on this practice as well. They knew that while we can’t always control what happens to us (and we shouldn’t attempt to) we CAN control how we respond to what happens to us. When we wear our intention glasses we focus on what lies within our power. “Can I control that? No? Then don’t worry about it. Yes? Then don’t worry about it” When we set this intention we learn to respond, not react. When unpleasant co-worker interrupts us in the meeting with negativity, we respond constructively as opposed to react defensively. We remain balanced and clear minded.
Morning intentions are how we code for good days. Positive Psychology and Stoic wisdom are powerful tools for enhancing mental and physical health. Every morning when we put on our favor tinted glasses, we’re choosing how we see the world. We don’t see obstacles and hurdles. We see opportunities to learn and possibilities for growth.
The simple question “What kind of day do I want to have?” will blaze a trail towards health and happiness if we answer it with purpose and positivity.
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