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Positive Action

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[B][SIZE=4]S M I L E[/SIZE][/B]


I consider myself to be a thinker, perhaps even a thinking addict. Many a time I wake in the early hours of the morning to find myself thinking of the strangest ideas, like relatively, time travel, and other things to weird to post to a blog. Yesterday I posted a short, call it a mind program if you like called a depression cure, and that was just one of the strange ideas that filtered through my mind. So this morning I decided to do a Google on the principle that smiling can make you happy, and I found an interesting article on just such a thing.

As I was thinking about creating the mind program to cure depression, my mind drifted to thoughts on how the whole self improvement theory that is based on positive thinking misses something so important to self improvement. What they miss is positive action. Can something as simple as a forced smile cure depression, I believe it can. Can something as simple as reading the word S M I L E make you smile, I know it can.

Okay here are some ideas for positive action you can take in your life, and it is based on what is called the AS IF principle that I read about this morning on Google, during my research for a smile cure for depression.

[B]How to change[/B]
Action speaks loudest
By Richard Wiseman

Here are 10 quick and effective exercises that use the As If principle to transform how you think and behave.

HAPPINESS: Smile

This is the granddaddy of them all. As Laird's study demonstrated, smile and you will feel happier. To get the most out of this exercise, make the smile as wide as possible, extend your eyebrow muscles slightly upward, and hold the resulting expression for about 20 seconds.

WILLPOWER: Tense up

As Hung's experiments show, tensing your muscles boosts your willpower. Next time you feel the need to avoid that cigarette or cream cake, make a fist, contract your biceps, press your thumb and first finger together, or grip a pen in your hand.

DIETING: Use your non-dominant hand

When you eat with your non-dominant hand you are acting as if you are carrying out an unusual behaviour. Because of that you place more attention on your action, do not simply consume food without thinking about it, and so eat less.

PROCRASTINATION: Make a start

To overcome procrastination, act as if you are interested in what it is that you have to do. Spend just a few minutes carrying out the first part of whatever it is you are avoiding, and suddenly you will feel a strong need to complete the task.

PERSISTENCE: Sit up straight and cross your arms

Ron Friedman from the University of Rochester led a study where volunteers were presented with tricky problems to see how long they persevered. Those who sat up straight and folded their arms struggled on for nearly twice as long as others. Make sure your computer monitor is slightly above your eye-line and, when the going gets tough, cross your arms.

CONFIDENCE: Power pose

To increase your self-esteem and confidence, adopt a power pose. If you are sitting down, lean back, look up and interlock your hands behind your head. If you are standing up, then place your feet flat on the floor, push your shoulders back and your chest forward.

NEGOTIATION: Use soft chairs

Hard furniture is associated with hard behaviour. In one study Joshua Ackerman at the MIT Sloan School of Management had participants sit on either soft or hard chairs and then negotiate over the price of a used car. Those in the hard chairs offered less and were more inflexible.

GUILT: Wash away your sins

If you are feeling guilty about something, try washing your hands or taking a shower. Chen-Bo Zhong from the University of Toronto discovered that people who carried out an immoral act and then cleaned their hands with an antiseptic wipe felt significantly less guilty than others.

PERSUASION: Nod

If people nod while they listen to a discussion they are more likely to agree with the points being made. When you want to encourage someone to agree with you, subtly nod your head as you chat with them. Research led by Gary Wells of Iowa State University shows that they will reciprocate the movement and find themselves strangely attracted to your way of thinking.

LOVE: Open up

Couples in love talk about the more intimate aspects of their lives. Research carried out by Robert Epstein, founder of the Cambridge Centre for Behavioural Studies, shows that the opposite is also true – more intimate chat makes people feel attracted to each other. If you are out on a date, get the other person to open up by asking what advice they would give to their 10-year-old self, or what one object they would save in a house fire.

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Comments

  1. Dave A's Avatar
    Great blog, Vieome. I've used the"smile to feel happy" and "nod head to be pursuasive" to very good effect for many years. Great to find some more gems on how the body can lead the mind.
  2. vieome's Avatar
    Thanks
  3. Blurock's Avatar
    Positive people have a positive influence on their environment. Often when one meet with a positive person, you walk away feeling more positive. This is because you unconsciously mirror the positive person's actions and body language.

    You smile when they smile. You watch the eyes and you see the warmth. You stop crossing your arms in front of your body and you start partaking in the conversation....

    Great blog. I'm happy!
  4. vieome's Avatar
    Thanks
  5. vieome's Avatar
    [IMG]http://a4.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/42/ea5ca80d9f63eef5c97bc75bcd39008a/l.gif[/IMG]