Positive on purpose: no magical thinking required

"We’re at our professional best when we’re positive."

The notion of staying positive cops a bad rap these days, particularly from critical thinkers, academic types, and those of us who aspire to a more thoughtful consideration of life’s ups and downs.  Perhaps rightly so, as a quick glance at the plethora of positivity memes that surround us on social media might affirm.  On any given day my Instagram feed reveals gems like: “Positive mind, positive vibes, positive life.”  “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.”  “Stay positive and good things will happen.” And this perennial “Tough times don’t last but tough people do.” Any wonder our eyes roll as our fingers scroll, quickly.

However, the science that supports the potential of being positive on purpose is compelling, even if you’re more inclined to yin than yang.

This case starts by pulling apart two terms that are often conflated, but that are in fact phenomenologically quite different -  ‘positivity’ and ‘happiness’.

Happiness is a feeling or emotion, and describes the quality of an experience we are having.  We can feel happiness as we share a joke with a colleague, read an email from a friend, feel the coolness of the autumn breeze on our face as we head home on a Friday afternoon.

Positivity, on the other hand, refers to states of mind and deliberate actions that are associated with subjective well-being, optimal functioning and sustained success. Those states of mind include optimism, hope, resilience, transcendence, positive engagement, connectedness, meaning, accomplishment, and a sense of confident self-determination.  No doubt these leave us feeling good, happy even!   It’s just that genuine positivity refers to qualities and actions that, when consistently deployed over a period of time, are beneficial and lastingly impactful on the quality of our life experience.

Happiness is a mood. Positivity is a mindset; a way of seeing the world and one’s place in it.

As with all moods, happiness will come and go.  But a state of mind is a choice that we make, either consciously or unconsciously. Given a choice, I always vote for conscious choice every time.  In the case of choosing positivity, here are three very good reasons why this is a good one.

First, positivity has been shown to engender success. This science comes from an extensive meta-analytic study conducted by Lyubomirsky, King & Diener (2005) on the links between positive affect (or happiness) and success.  They found, amongst other things, that happiness precedes success across an array of life domains including marriage, friendship, income, work performance and health.  The exciting and potentially lifechanging point about this fact is that it runs counter to our widespread social and cultural assumption that success leads to happiness. In fact, the opposite is true.  Happiness, or more accurately, consistently sustained positivity, leads to success. Positivity, as a state of mind, is a precondition to creating and achieving sustainable, favourable life circumstances.

Second, positivity enhances one’s personal levels of influence and likeability.  The authors of this same study proposed (and consequently affirmed) that the success experienced by positive people could be attributed to the positive emotions and behaviours that such folks cultivate and sustain as part of their positivity.  In other words, positive people tend to think, feel and act in ways that promote influence, likeability and engagement from others.  This in turn leads to personal and professional success; a finding that is echoed across an array of research in positive psychology.

For my money the most powerful of these theories was captured by Barbara Fredrickson (2001) in her ‘broaden and build’ study.  In a nutshell, Fredrickson’s study found that those who flourish in life do not necessarily experience fewer difficulties or challenges than those who flounder. Rather, the difference between those who flounder and those who flourish, is in the intentionally positive stance that flourishers take.  That positive stance, or mindset, energises personal characteristics and behaviours such as confidence, optimism, self-efficacy, originality, flexibility, creativity, fluency, openness, and an array of prosocial behaviours.  So, while flounderers respond to hard times by narrowing their options and withdraw into themselves to protect their diminishing resources,  flourishers respond by expanding their perspectives and widening their horizons in the face of challenge.  Flourishers strategically build their resources, address gaps in their skill set, and value the benefits of sharing with others to become generous collaborators. Flourishing people are great to work with, exciting to partner with, and inspiring to be led by. Which of these would you rather be with?  Which of these would you rather be?

The third and final point in the case for choosing positivity on purpose relates to our ability to perform effectively and flexibly in the workplace. The science that links emotional wellbeing and positivity to physical wellbeing is well documented, but it reaches well beyond the simple benefits of mood-boosting hormones.  It’s true that when our minds are negative, angry or anxious damaging chemicals like cortisol run riot and reduce our ability to think clearly or make decisions with confidence.  When our brain is under this kind of stress it draws metabolic energy away from the prefrontal cortex.  It gets difficult to take in new information, navigate ambiguity, or even process our day to day tasks. Sustained or unchecked negativity over time can distort our perspective, impair cognition and seriously damage our mental health and wellbeing.

In contrast, an intentionally positive frame of mind boosts synaptic growth and opens up our prefrontal cortex (that part of the brain that runs like a sophisticated control tower responsible for operationalising higher order functioning).  The prefrontal cortex works like a ninja to close down all the useless apps running in the background of our minds, and frees up operating memory vital for functions that our workplace performance relies heavily on, such as paying attention, analysing data, comprehending problems and negotiating opportunities; as well as the generation of multiple options, articulate solutions, prioritised actions, confident decisions, creative content, and, well, flexing with the flow.   Moreover, when we’re feeling positive we’re more likely to have our emotional and social antennae finely tuned; the importance of which is not lost on any of us who have ever had to repair a relationship turned sour over a clumsy, mistimed comment made in a moment of malaise.

In short, we’re at our professional best when we’re positive.

To close, positivity plays a vital role in our lives, and it entails a commitment to something much greater and more substantial than simple Pollyanasim.  Beyond this mindless kind of benevolent cheer, positivity is an intentional commitment to ensuring that genuine optimism, engagement, meaning, service to others, and accomplishment are essential components of our daily lives.  These things together bring about a sustained experience of subjective well-being and optimal functioning, for ourselves and for those we live and work with. Positivity is a state of mind that, if we choose it with intention, can bring a range of benefits, including, but not limited to, happiness and success.

Dr Mia O’Brien is Senior Lecturer and Coordinator, Professional Practice in Griffith University’s School of Education and Professional Studies.  Mia has an extensive passion for the application of positive psychology to learning, teaching and work. Her ARC Discovery Grant investigates the application of positive psychology to schools and classrooms, she consults across sectors on strategies for building positivity in the workplace and in educational settings, and she writes and publishes on positive psychology in education regularly.  She is a member of the Positive Education Schools Association (PESA) and her podcast series Positive on Purpose: no magical thinking required explores the scientific basis of positive psychology and its application to work and to life.