I’ve written about this topic before, but I just can’t get it out of my head!

In the June 26 online issue of the Positive Psychology News Daily, Bridget Grenville-Cleave, a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) student at the University of East London, provided a series of summaries from the 5^th European Positive Psychology Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 23-26 2010. Here is part of one of her summaries:

“Keynote 2: Barbara Fredrickson (Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)

How Positive Emotions Work and Why

 . . . Positivity opens us, changing our perceptual horizons. Recent brain imaging research shows that the perception of people in a neutral or negative state is focused in one area, whereas people in a positive state have a broadened focus. The implications of this are as follows:

1. We can see many possibilities.
2. We’re more creative.
3. We’re more resilient.
4. We perform better. . .

Positive emotions transform us for the better – they’re a source of nourishment for growth . . .”

Well, there you have it – being positive is good for you!  Gratitude and appreciation stimulate wider areas of your brain, meaning you have more brain power going for you – neurotransmitters firing, connecting, interacting.  That’s a good thing.

Picture your brain on happiness – it is like a party in your head, and all the guests care about you and are working to make your life better.

That’s what being more positive can do for you, and your brain scans can prove it.

I like that. Party on!

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If you would like to start planning a party in your head, I can help!  You can learn to be more positive, and I can coach you through it.  For more information on life coaching and how it can change your life, click here.