Seven weeks, and you’re an optimist

Generic pic of happy old woman for stories about happiness and optimism

Generic pic of happy old woman for stories about happiness and optimism

Published Jul 11, 2013

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London - If you’re a pessimist who thinks a leopard can’t change its spots, just read on.

For researchers claim you can teach yourself to be an optimist in as little as seven weeks.

And there are even more reasons to be positive: the training consists of two simple excercises. One involves looking at smiley and angry faces and the other is a 20 minute meditation exercise.

By practising them regularly, scientists have shown the brain can change the way it works – therefore transforming a pessimist’s outlook on life.

The findings were aired in a BBC documentary which investigated the science behind people’s personalities and whether it was possible to change them.

Viewers watched as presenter Michael Mosley, who has suffered with chronic insomnia for the past 20 years, explained how he wanted to become a ‘warmer, happier person and to sleep better’.

The father-of-four had his brain tested at Essex University by Professor Elaine Fox, a leading researcher into the science of optimism,

The results showed he had more activity in parts of brain associated with negativity, pessimism and a strong tendency to look on the dark side of life.

Past studies have found people who are prone to high levels of pessimism, neuroticism and anxiety suffer from ‘cerebral asymmetry’, where there is greater activity on the right side of their brain than the left. The cause of this is not yet known.

By analysing electrical activity in the brain, experts were able to show that the right side of Mr Mosley’s brain was three times more active than the left when in its resting state.

Professor Fox suggested Mr Mosley should undertake two forms of mental training daily.

The meditation excercise involved sitting in a quiet place and focusing on physical sensations, such as the weight of his body or breathing, for 20 minutes.

He met a former monk who told him about the ancient art of mindfulness, a form of meditation. The monk said said that everyone could benefit from taking ten to 20 minutes out of each day to cut off from the outside world and ‘live in the moment’.

The trick was to start doing this exercise for ten minutes, then build up to 20 minutes each time.

Eventually the technique enables the person to let their thoughts come and go freely without ruminating on them.

The second exercise involved looking at a screen showing 15 blank or angry faces, and one smiley face.

Mr Mosley had to spot the smiling face and click on it. A new set of faces then appeared.

The idea behind the excerise was to train his brain to look for positive images. By regularly doing this, it is thought the brain learns to tune into positive thoughts more easily.

After seven weeks, Mr Mosley felt his mood lifting, he started sleeping better and felt more optimistic. He then returned to the lab to see if his brain had in fact changed.

Mr Mosley was told the ‘asymmetrical’ levels of his brain activity had become more equalised – a strong indicator he had become more optimistic.

In addition to this, his scores when reacting to the brain training game had changed.

He reacted more quickly to happy faces and more slowly to sad faces, indicating he was not seeking out negativity as much.

Dr Mosley told the BBC2 programme, Horizon: The Truth about Personality: ‘I feel quite frankly astonished that you can notice that much change in just seven weeks.

‘I set out to see if it was possible to change my mind and I think I might have done it. I am absolutely thrilled.’ - Daily Mail

 

NINE STEPS TO A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

* Instead of focusing on negative thoughts focus on your breathing.

* Feel the beating of your heart and imagine it pumping blood around your body.

* Now you are ready to meditate. Focus on your anxious thoughts. Consider them objectively.

÷You don’t need a blank mind to meditate. Trying to stop thoughts emerging will only lead to more struggle.

* Treat the thoughts during meditation like having a radio on in the background ? you can hear it, but your main focus is elsewhere.

* Don’t judge a thought as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Watch your thoughts with curiosity and kindness and they will become easier to bear.

* When your mind wanders, accept it has meandered and gently bring it back to observing your thoughts.

* Continue working with your worries in this way for the period of time you have chosen. Working mindfully can be challenging, so it’s good to practise for short periods at first.

* The more you practise, the more your mind can deal with worries without panicking.

Adapted from The Mindful Manifesto, by Dr Jonty Heaversedge and Ed Halliwell

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