A Question of Focus,“It appears that the way people perceive the world is much more important to happiness than objective circumstances.” Ed Diener,Emotions determined by external and internal Choice of focus,“To the different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven.” Ralph Waldo Emerson,“Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so.”William Shakespeare,Two Archetypes,The Fault-Finder “The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise” Henry David Thoreau Could lead to resignationThe Benefit-Finder (Bower, 2007)Could lead to detachment The need to respect reality,“The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” Ralph Waldo Emerson,We Co-Create Our Reality,“Now however fixed these elements of reality may be, we still have a certain freedom in our dealings with them. Take our sensations. That they are is undoubtedly beyond our control; but which we attend to, note, and make emphatic in our conclusions depends on our own interests; and, according as we lay the emphasis here or there, quite different formulations of truth result. We read the same facts differently. Waterloo, with the same fixed details, spells a victory for an englishman; for a frenchman it spells a defeat. So, for an optimist philosopher the universe spells victory, for a pessimist, defeat. What we say about reality thus depends on the perspective into which we throw it.”William James,We Co-Create Our Reality,Isnt it strange how princes and kings, and clowns that caper in sawdust rings, and common people, like you and me, are builders for eternity?Each is given a list of rules; a shapeless mass; a bag of tools. And each must fashion, ere life is flown, A stumbling block, or a Stepping-Stone.R. L. Sharp,A Matter of Interpretation,“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Anne Harbison,“Things dont necessarily happen for the best, but some people are able to make the best of things that happen.”,A Matter of Interpretation,“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill,A Question of Interpretation,The world according to the fault-finder The (same) world according to the benefit-finder,The Benefits of Being a Benefit Finder,Well-being (Thompson, 1985) Health Affleck et al. (1987) Bower (1998) King & Miner (2000) Longevity,“The joyfulness of a man prolongeth his days.”Ecclesiastes,The Nun Study (Danner et al., 2001),Only positive feelings predicted longevity,“God started my life off well by bestowing upon me grace of inestimable value. The past year which I spent as a candidate studying at Notre Dame has been a very happy one. Now I look forward with eager joy to receiving the Holy Habit of Our Lady and to a life of union with Love Divine.”Celia OPayne,“I was born on September 26, 1909, the eldest of seven children, five girls and two boys. My candidate year was spent in the mother-house, teaching chemistry and second year Latin at Notre Dame Institute. With Gods grace, I intend to do my best for our Order, for the spread of religion and for my personal sanctification.” Marguerite Donnelly,The Nun Study (Danner et al., 2001),Only positive feelings predicted longevity Age 85: 90% of most cheerful quartile alive; 34% of least cheerful quartile alive. Age 94: 54% of most cheerful quartile alive; 11% of least cheerful quartile alive,Get Real!,The world according to the media,Get Real!,The world according to the media Media bias magnifying glass rather than looking glass accentuating the negative (magnifying) under-representing the positive (minimizing),Get Real!,The world according to the media Media bias magnifying glass rather than looking glass accentuating the negative under-representing the positive Who is really detached? Focusing on the 90% full part of the glass Focus creates reality,Appreciating Appreciation,Creating a growth spiral Genuine appreciation! There is always something to appreciate,Ap-preci-ate v., 1. Valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us, affirming past and present strengths and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems. 2. To increase in value, e.g., the economy has appreciated in value.,“What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it. Opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to be grateful no matter what happened in my life.”Oprah Winfrey,Correcting the False Schema: News,Correcting the False Schema: Art,Jan Vermeer,Correcting the False Schema: Art,Ludwig van Beethoven,Correcting the False Schema: Art,Correcting the False Schema: Art,David Knowles,Sandra J. Shaw,Correcting the False Schema: Studies,Adaptation,We are change detectors Change detection helpful in case of danger Adaptation helps to overcome difficulties Taking things for granted Eating the cake and leaving it whole?,