Self help: ignore positive thinking, consider positive action
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For years self-help masters have preached the exact same simple mantra: if you wish to improve your life then you require to change how you think. Force yourself to have positive thoughts and you will become happier. Visualise your dream self and you will delight in increased success. Believe like a millionaire and you will magically grow rich. In concept, this concept sounds completely sensible. Nevertheless, in practice it typically proves inefficient.
Take visualisation. Hundreds of self-improvement books encourage readers to close their eyes and picture their ideal selves; to see themselves in a huge workplace at the top of the corporate ladder, or sipping a mixed drink as they feel the warm Caribbean sand in between their toes. Unfortunately, research recommends this method does not work.
In one research study led by Lien Pham at the University of California, trainees were asked to invest a couple of moments each day imagining themselves getting a high grade in an upcoming exam. Although the fantasizing workout only lasted a couple of minutes, it caused the trainees to study less and obtain lower marks. In another experiment led by Gabriele Oettingen from New York University, graduates were asked to take down how frequently they fantasised about getting their dream job after leaving college. The students who reported that they regularly fantasised about such success received less job offers and ended up with considerably smaller sized salaries.
Why should this be so? Maybe those who fantasise about a fantastic life are ill-prepared for setbacks, or end up being unwilling to put in the effort needed to attain their goal. In any case, the message is clear-- thinking of the perfect you is not good for your life.
However, when it comes to change, the message is not all gloom and doom. Years of research show that there is certainly a simple but highly efficient way to transform how you think and feel. The technique turns common sense on its head however is grounded in science. Strangely, the story begins with a world-renowned Victorian thinker and an imaginary bear.
Operating At Harvard University in the late 19th century, William James, bro of the novelist Henry James, was drawn in to the non-traditional, frequently walking around campus sporting a silk hat and red-checked pants, and explaining his theories using entertaining prose ("As long as one bad cockroach feels the pangs of unrequited love, this world is not a moral world"). This non-traditional approach paid off. Very first released in 1890, James's two-volume magnum opus The Principles of Psychology is still required reading for students of behavioural science.
For years self-help masters have preached the exact same simple mantra: if you wish to improve your life then you require to change how you think. Force yourself to have positive thoughts and you will become happier. Visualise your dream self and you will delight in increased success. Believe like a millionaire and you will magically grow rich. In concept, this concept sounds completely sensible. Nevertheless, in practice it typically proves inefficient.
Take visualisation. Hundreds of self-improvement books encourage readers to close their eyes and picture their ideal selves; to see themselves in a huge workplace at the top of the corporate ladder, or sipping a mixed drink as they feel the warm Caribbean sand in between their toes. Unfortunately, research recommends this method does not work.
In one research study led by Lien Pham at the University of California, trainees were asked to invest a couple of moments each day imagining themselves getting a high grade in an upcoming exam. Although the fantasizing workout only lasted a couple of minutes, it caused the trainees to study less and obtain lower marks. In another experiment led by Gabriele Oettingen from New York University, graduates were asked to take down how frequently they fantasised about getting their dream job after leaving college. The students who reported that they regularly fantasised about such success received less job offers and ended up with considerably smaller sized salaries.
Why should this be so? Maybe those who fantasise about a fantastic life are ill-prepared for setbacks, or end up being unwilling to put in the effort needed to attain their goal. In any case, the message is clear-- thinking of the perfect you is not good for your life.
However, when it comes to change, the message is not all gloom and doom. Years of research show that there is certainly a simple but highly efficient way to transform how you think and feel. The technique turns common sense on its head however is grounded in science. Strangely, the story begins with a world-renowned Victorian thinker and an imaginary bear.
Operating At Harvard University in the late 19th century, William James, bro of the novelist Henry James, was drawn in to the non-traditional, frequently walking around campus sporting a silk hat and red-checked pants, and explaining his theories using entertaining prose ("As long as one bad cockroach feels the pangs of unrequited love, this world is not a moral world"). This non-traditional approach paid off. Very first released in 1890, James's two-volume magnum opus The Principles of Psychology is still required reading for students of behavioural science.
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