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The Brighter Side of Being Human
Science and technology have taken unimaginable strides during the last 100 years. Yet we have scant knowledge of what makes life worth living. Psychology has come to understand quite a bit about how people endure and survive the numerous adversities they face. But we know very little about how normal people flourish under more benign conditions. The field of psychology has, since World War II, by and large, become a science and practice of healing. It concentrates on repairing damages within a diseased model of human functioning, known as "pathology", which neglects a flourishing individual and a thriving community.
However, hope is not totally lost. Researchers, human behaviour scientists and sociologists alike are now working on a crucial and contemporary concept in psychology known as "positive psychology." This new field has changed the focus of psychology from a preoccupation with repairing the worst things in life to also understanding and building positive qualities. Positive psychology is the scientific pursuit of optimal human functioning and the building of a field focusing on human strengths and virtues. It builds on the science and research methods that shed light on the "dark side" of human nature, and it opens the doors to some of the inherent potentials human beings possess: the natural capacity to be happy, to love, to overcome anxiety and fear, to solve unlimited problems. Psychologists such as Martin Seligman have been able to shift at least some of the emphasis away solely from life's worst things to the study and understanding of some of life's best things. Human beings can now be certain that there is a bright side to being human, against only the dark side expounded by traditional psychology.
Positive psychology points out that human beings can be genuinely happy irrespective of the situation they find themselves in. It lays stress on your mentality being important and not the circumstances you face. If you have a "positive mentality" the surrounding situation will not much affect your inner serenity, confidence, compassion and growth. We have discovered that there is a set of human strengths that are the most likely buffers against mental illness and that promote courage, optimism, interpersonal skill, work ethic, hope, honesty and perseverance. Much of the task of prevention will be to create a science of human strength whose mission will be to foster these virtues in everyone, specially the young people.
Some interesting observations by Judith Orloff, MD, establish that people's beliefs about their abilities have a profound effect on those abilities. An ability is not a fixed property; there is a huge variability in your performance. People who have a sense of self-efficacy bounce back from failures; they approach things in terms of how to handle them rather than worrying about what can go wrong. Fear is the biggest energy thief there is. The key is to replace fear with faith and believe in yourself and the power of good. Trying to ignore it won't stop you from carrying around the fear and being drained by it. Spiritual involvement can get people in touch with an energy that is larger than the people themselves, and that helps ease fear.
Another such example is the research on hope carried out by Harvard Medical School Professor Jerome Groopman. Can hope contribute to recovery by changing physical well-being? To answer this hotly debated question, Groopman embarked on an investigative journey to cutting-edge laboratories where researchers are unravelling an authentic biology of hope. There he found a scientific basis for understanding the role of this vital emotion in the outcome of illness. In his renowned book The Anatomy of Hope he offers a new way of thinking about hope, with a message for all readers and not just for patients and their families. 'We are just beginning to appreciate hope's reach,' Groopman writes, 'and have not defined its limits. I see hope as the very heart of healing.'
Our religious scriptures such as the Vedas, Bible, Koran, Geeta, Dhammapada, Ramayana, and Upanishads have always talked about highly positive human beings who are modelled as gods or demigods (sometimes called super-human). It is profoundly interesting and delightful to note that the recent developments in psychology corroborate the deep-rooted message these scriptures have for humanity. This also throws some light on the re-discovered importance of these scriptures and the role they have for the future of humanity.
I believe that social and behavioural sciences can also play an enormously important role at this juncture. They can show what actions lead to well-being, to happiness and a positive frame of mind, and to the prosperity of humanity. Psychology should be able to help document what kind of families result in the healthiest children, what work environments promote the greatest satisfaction among workers, and what policies result in the strongest civic commitment.
(Sharma is Chartered Accountant, Management and Financial Consultant, Trainer on Organisational Development and Positive Living)
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