Want to be Happy? Mental Fitness May Help

Positive Psychology and Positive Intelligence are two distinct yet complementary fields that aim to improve mental well-being and overall quality of life. While positive psychology focuses on shifting one’s perspective to maximize happiness, Positive Intelligence provides a neuroscience-based approach to “mental fitness” – to help keep your mind healthy. In this blog post, we will explore the key findings from both fields and discuss their importance for pharmacists, holistic health coaches, mental fitness coaches, and patients.

Positive Psychology:

Positive psychology, as described by Martin Seligman, is the scientific study of life’s positive qualities, such as well-being, happiness, satisfaction, and the ability to thrive in daily life.[1]

Positive psychology is the science and study of life’s positive qualities — well-being, happiness, satisfaction, and the ability to thrive in our day-to-day lives. The field studies what goes into building a life of purpose, rich with meaning that allows the individual to flourish.

It focuses on what is life-giving rather than life-depleting and has been shown to be effective in enhancing happiness and performance.[2] Seligman has outlined several theories and concepts that have emerged from positive psychology research, including the importance of autonomy, competence, and connection to others.[3]

Positive psychology teaches individuals to harness the power of shifting their perspective to maximize happiness in everyday behaviors. Some key findings from positive psychology include:

1. Overestimation of money’s impact on happiness: People tend to overestimate the impact of money on their happiness, but focusing less on wealth can lead to greater happiness.
2. Spending on experiences vs material possessions: Spending money on experiences provides a bigger boost to happiness than spending on material possessions.
3. Gratitude and happiness: Cultivating gratitude is a significant contributor to happiness in life, suggesting that the more we practice gratitude, the happier we will be.
4. Oxytocin and social connection: Oxytocin may increase trust, empathy, and morality in humans, indicating that physical affection and social connection can significantly impact overall well-being.
5. Emotional labor and positive mood: Actively cultivating a positive mood to match the outward emotion required in emotional labor can lead to genuine happiness.
6. Happiness contagion: Happiness is contagious, and those with happy friends and significant others are more likely to be happy in the future.
7. Acts of kindness and well-being: Performing acts of kindness towards others not only improves the giver’s well-being but also increases acceptance by peers.
8. Volunteering and depression: Volunteering time to a cause one believes in can improve well-being and life satisfaction, potentially reducing symptoms of depression.
9. Spending on others and happiness: Spending money on other people results in greater happiness for the giver.

Positive Intelligence:

Positive Intelligence, on the other hand, is a neuroscience-based approach to mental fitness developed by Shirzad Chamine [4]. Positive Intelligence provides a neuroscience-based approach to mental fitness. It involves identifying and intercepting negative thought patterns, known as Saboteurs, and activating positive reflexes, or Sage powers, to promote mental well-being and resilience. The three core muscles of mental fitness in Positive Intelligence are the Saboteur Interceptor Muscle, Self-Command Muscle, and Sage Muscle, which help individuals build new neural pathways and respond to challenges with a clear and calm mind.[5]

Just like your physical health needs to be maintained by a healthy diet and a regular movement practice, your mind needs similar consistent stimulation and programming. And if we are not intentionally putting healthy things into our minds, the tendency is to go into one’s “automatic baseline state”, which often is rooted in our limbic system and fear. This can create emotional and nervous system dysregulation, and activate the fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses, which are ultimately drivers of perceived stress and overwhelm.

The positive intelligence quotient (PQ) is used as a measure of mental fitness. It is the percentage of time the mind is being positive, allowing it to flourish — a big factor in allowing you to reach your full potential. Some key findings from Positive Intelligence include:[2]

1. Baseline happiness levels: Individuals tend to get stuck at their “baseline happiness” levels, meaning that greater achievements and wealth only temporarily improve happiness before returning to the baseline.
2. Positive Intelligence Quotient (PQ): PQ measures the strength of an individual’s positive mental muscles (sage) versus their negative (saboteur), and improving PQ is directly linked to improvements in achievement.
3. Saboteurs and Sage powers: Saboteurs are habitual mind patterns that react to challenges and generate negative emotions, while the Sage aspect of mental fitness manages challenges through positive emotions.
4. Self-command muscle: The self-command muscle is the ability to boost the Sage and dampen down the Saboteur, promoting joy, compassion, and curiosity as opposed to anxiety, shame, and regret.
5. PQ Reps: 10-second exercises designed to strengthen PQ mental fitness, helping clients meet challenges with a clear, focused, and insightful mind.

Application in Quality of Life & Happiness:

The principles of both Positive Psychology and Positive Intelligence can help individuals improve their emotional resilience, happiness, and performance in various aspects of life. Pharmacists, holistic health and mindfulness coaches, and patients can benefit from incorporating these findings into their practice and daily lives.

Positive Psychology has been integrated into community pharmacy settings to develop interventions that increase well-being among community members [6][7]. This integration allows pharmacists to provide holistic care, addressing not only physical health but also mental and emotional well-being.

Holistic health coaches guide individuals towards an overall healthier life, focusing on various aspects such as nutrition, physical fitness, and emotional well-being [8]. By incorporating Positive Psychology and PQ concepts, health coaches can help clients cultivate a positive mindset, manage stress, and improve their relationships with others.

Mental health fitness coaches, like those trained in Positive Intelligence, focus on building mental fitness for improved performance and well-being [9]. They help clients strengthen their self-command, self-awareness, and empathy to better handle life’s challenges and increase happiness [10].

By understanding and applying the principles of these fields, individuals can improve their emotional resilience, happiness, and performance in various aspects of life – either on their own or with support from coaches or healthcare professionals.[11] The key to lasting neuroplasticity is consistent practice over time. Happiness is just a mindset shift away, as long as you put theory into action. 

Which emotional and nervous system regulation techniques are your favorites? 

1. If you’d like a sample PQ session, book your session with me here, first come first serve!

References:

1. What is Positive Psychology and How Can It Help? – Talkspace
2. Positive Psychology v Positive Intelligence – LawStudent.Solutions
3. What Is Positive Psychology & Why Is It Important?
4. Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine | Summary » Process Hacker
5. How it Works | Positive Intelligence
6. Development of a Positive Psychology Well-Being Intervention in a Community Pharmacy Setting – PMC
7. Development of a positive psychology well-being intervention in a community pharmacy setting
8. What Is Health Coaching? 12 Benefits & Principles Explained
9. Positive Intelligence
10. How to Improve Your Mental Fitness for Optimal Performance and Wellbeing
11. Positive Psychology Coaching vs. Life Coaching: A Comparison