Strategies to Build Resilience and Happiness: The Art and Science of Gratitude (Lo, 4/27/2022)

I am personally feeling very grateful to Dr. Onna Lo for a really lovely presentation this week on Gratitude, Happiness and Resilience. I have already integrated some of her techniques. . .priming my day and granting myself a "celebration" list (what I have accomplished in the last 24 hours) rather than a "todo list" (all the things I feel bad about not accomplishing).

If you are interested in watching her presentation-- and you should be --  it is available HERE .

Here are my notes. sorry they are brief:

Dr. Lo encouraged us to start every day and  every encounter with the ABCs:

A: Awareness (ground yourself)

B: Body/breath (be in your body, find your breath)

C: Connection (with your surroundings, yourself, your patients)

People are struggling

• 36% of Americans are cognitively tired
• 44% of Americans are physically tired
• Depression rates have increased over the last decade from 8% to 22% to 32% in 2022

Something to strive for -- Dr. Lo recommends in our own lives and for patients. To be: Empowered, Engaged, Excited, and Embodied

Some definitions:

• Reactive gratitude: appreciation for a gift received
• Active gratitude: seeking out gifts occurring in life that are appreciated
• Happiness: enjoyment of the present good
• Hope: desire for valued future
• Resilience: the ability to prepare for, recover from, adapt in the face of adversity, stress or challenge

Lesson #1: A positive mindset sets you up for better learning

A positive mindset leads to better learning, improved performance, better problem solving

In  The Happiness Advantage, author and researcher Shawn Achor, proposes that personal happiness leads to professional success (not vice versa). Happiness is a choice. Happiness spreads. Happiness is an advantage. Read more about his work here. 

The happier you are, the more successful you will be (Horn & Arbuckle). 

Gratitude predicts hope and happiness more than forgiveness and patience.

How can YOU build happiness? 21 days in a row x 2 minutes >> 3 gratitudes, positive journaling

Lesson #2: Our brains tend to get stuck in negativity

Half glass full or half empty?

Dr. Lo showed us a series of sociological experiment in which people consistently chose the negative response consistently after being primed with a negative response, even when the outcome was quite positive. If primed with the positive response, people were more likely to choose positive. 

We can unstick ourselves by "priming"-- that is, retraining the mind first thing in the morning with gratitude. That is, starting the day positive allows for the day to be more positive.

Exercise: Draw a triangle, write down 3 gratitudes (these must be heartfelt!)

1) what I am grateful for in myself

2) what I am grateful for in others

3) what I am grateful for in my current situation

Exercise: Draw a triangle, write down 3 wonderful things that you accomplished in the last 24 hours (this is your celebration list)

Exercise: Draw a triangle: write down 3 things that will make today great

Lesson #3: There is science supporting positivity and gratitude

Coherence=optimal coordination between the heart and the mind ==> heartrate variability is a really beautiful sinus curve in someone who is completely in a coherent state. Being in this mindset is better for your whole body.

Much more information about coherence and Heart Math at the Heart Math Institute Website found here. 

Exercise:

1) Heart focused breathing: 5 breaths in/5 breaths out (requires nothing more than the breath)

2) Inner coherence: use positive emotions or feelings of gratitude to establish a coherent beat (using heart math monitor)

And finally, keep a gratitude journal. Even in these hard times, there are big and small things to be grateful for.