Media and the Flourishing Life

It seems to me that when we take in the news through newspapers, books, movies, tv, or internet without being aware of its affect on us, we put ourselves at risk of developing a skewed view of the world which can lead to pessimism, cynicism and hopelessness. It can be so subtle that we don't even know its happening. And this is less than desirable when creating a flourishing life.

The headlines in the news usually comment on something that is negative about humankind: killings, crashes, abuse, etc. this creates the appearance that all that is going on in the world is negative. It creates the general message that most other human beings are to be feared and are not to be trusted. It also creates the general message that human beings are generally less than noble in their intentions. Although these negative events are true and we need to be selective in who we trust, it is not the whole picture.

I believe that most human beings have a nobility which they want to develop, that we are basically kind and good. But without positive environments to support this, how do we bring out the best in ourselves and each other?

Well, for starters, we can start being selective about the media to which we subject ourselves. So how about watching "What the Bleep do we Know" instead of "True Blood" or reading a book that is uplifting story instead of a crime novel. We can start searching for media that highlights the positive in humankind. So, if anyone out there reading this knows of a good newspaper or newsletter that publishes good news, please type in a comment to this blog so we can spread the goods news too.

Until next time, Johanna

www.johannavanderpol.com

What is a Flourishing Life?

This blog is the beginning of a series of reflections as well as proven ways from the research in positive psychology to create a flourishing life for yourself. I am a positive psychology coach who studies what enables human beings to thrive and I like to pass that information along to others like you. This is an exciting field that studies what is right with us instead of what is wrong with us. It does not ignore the negative emotions that exist but puts them into a balanced big picture. I also pull from the literature in coaching as well as my own personal learning and my experience as a coach with my clients. So, let's begin.

What would a flourishing life look like for you? That is the most important question you can answer. From there, you can build an optimal way of living based in what is important to you as well as what we have learned from the research. The first thing you might want to do is to write a paragraph or a page describing what your flourishing life looks like.

I recently conducted a workshop where I had my participants come with a written paragraph or page about what a flourishing life would look like for them. What I noticed was that all participants described their flourishing life in words of feeling states. Some of the words used were: warm & cozy, connected, freedom, bountiful, serenity, good circle of friends, security, harmony. The other way it has been described is in describing 'a perfect day', describing what you do, think and feel from the beginning to the end of one day, if it were perfect. And yet another way to describe it might be to describe the different elements of your life such as financial, career, social, family, leisure and so on.

So, what would a flourishing life look like for you?

Warmly, Johanna