IF
you're a pessimist who thinks a leopard can't change its spots, just read on.
New research claims 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 exercises. One involves looking
at smiley and angry faces and the other is a 20-minute meditation exercise,
researchers found.
By practising them regularly, scientists have
shown the brain can change the way it works, transforming a pessimist's outlook
on life.
A BBC documentary which aired this week in
Britain, investigated the science behind people's personalities and whether it
was possible to change them.
Just as experts predicted, it is, in fact, very
possible.
Psychologist Dr Darryl Cross, of Crossways
Consulting, says it was all about "wanting" to change that made all
the difference.
"If you want to change it's possible,"
he says. "You can train people, give them the skill in how to find the cup
half full rather than half empty." But don't race out just yet - there are
some "buts" to this process.
"If the person is clinically depressed or
anxious - that (changing) will be much more difficult," Dr Cross says.
He offers some simple tips on how to turn from
feeling negative to positive.
"Each night when you go home I want you to
spend about five minutes or so writing down three things in the day that went
well and why," he says.
"In the morning create a `thankful list' of
10 things you're thankful for ... it could be you're thankful you have a roof
over your head, or you're thankful you've got a caring family ... or decent
food on the table."
"You will feel a sense of gratitude to
yourself that you're not hard done by."
University of South Australia clinical
psychologist Doctor Nadine Pelling says having a positive outlook on life may
sound simple, but for some people, it takes practice and attention.
She says people must identify what they are
wanting to change first.
"Look at the ways in which you want to
change, become aware of when you're doing that you want to change and then
follow through with it," she says.
Dr Pelling says being more positive was
sometimes as simple as doing something that makes you happy.
She says there was "very old research"
which showed people's moods lifted when they watch comedy shows.
"Bottom line if you have a break from
negativity ... you're doing something different and you're thinking
different," she says.
In the British documentary, 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 Prof 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.
Prof Fox suggests Mr Mosley should undertake two
forms of mental training daily.
The meditation exercise 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 that everyone
could benefit from taking 10 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
10 minutes, then build up to 20 minutes.
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 exercise 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 says he 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 "asymmetric"
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 BBC
Two program, 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."
So, who said a leopard can't change their spots
again?
~Dailymail
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