Cultivate the 5 seeds of Big Potential says Shawn Achor.
Seed #4: Defend against Negative Influences:
Protect your System
Having positive emotions at all times is neither realistic nor practical. We need negative emotions like sadness, fear and anger to alert us that our ecosystem has been trespassed, or our rights have been violated. (*See reference below). They are a signal that change is needed; one that we have to initiate ourselves and not wait for the world to begin to do so.
These negative emotions are like vaccinations that inoculate us against illness.
They are vital for our health. They become dysfunctional only when they grow disproportionately (become acute), or fester (become chronic) into depression, anxiety or rage. Once the balance is tipped they become unhealthy for us.
There is what is known as emotional and social contagion. Bombarded by negative news daily can imbalance us to the point of learned helplessness. When others around us express negativity be it through facial expressions, body language, verbally or physically, we are affected no matter how stable we are. It is said that 2nd hand stress is like 2nd hand smoke. If we are surrounded by stress ours goes up 26%. Stress hormones are released that can even be smelled by others! Guarding against these attacks is critical for our wellbeing. How do we do that?
Achor suggests 5 strategies:
1) Build a tidal moat
2) Build a mental stronghold
3) Learn the art of mental aikido
4) Take a vacation from your problems
5) Pick your battles
Look for the next newsletter that will elaborate on these ideas.
* Reference: Sep 2018 post, Your Positivity Ratio