Here at Only Positive News, we want to create in our readers a more positive outlook organically. Surprisingly that can come about in some seemingly inauthentic ways. It’s an outside-in approach to positivity, often referred to as “fake it until you make it.”

Here’s an excerpt from a great article that scientifically proves you can make a difference simply by playing a role of happiness:

If social psychologists have proven anything during the last 30 years, they have proven that the actions we take leave a residue inside us. Every time we act, we amplify the underlying idea or tendency behind it. Most people presume the reverse: that our traits and attitudes affect our behavior. While this is true to a certain extent (though less so than commonly supposed), it is also true that our traits and attitudes follow our behavior. We are as likely to act ourselves into a new way of thinking as to think ourselves into a new way of acting.

There is a practical moral here for us all. Do we wish to change ourselves in some important way? Perhaps boost our self-esteem? Become more optimistic and socially assertive? Well, a potent strategy is to get up and start doing that very thing. Don’t worry that you don’t feel like it. Fake it. Pretend self-esteem. Feign optimism. Simulate outgoingness.

In experiments, people have been asked to write essays or present themselves to an interviewer in either self-enhancing or selfdeprecating ways. Those who act as if they are exceptionally intelligent, caring, and sensitive people later express higher self-esteem when privately describing themselves to a different researcher. This saying-becomes-believing effect is harnessed by therapy techniques (such as behavior therapy, rational-emotive therapy, and cognitive therapy), each of which prods the clients into practicing more positive talk and behavior.

Yes, telling people to act or talk positively sounds like telling people to be phony. But, as usually happens when we step into some new role–perhaps our first days “playing” parent, salesperson, or teacher–an amazing thing happens: The phoniness gradually subsides. We notice that our uncomfortable sense of being a parent, for instance, no longer feels forced. The new role–and the new behaviors and accompanying attitudes–have begun to fit us as comfortably as an old pair of blue jeans.

The moral: Going through the motions can trigger the emotions. Surely you’ve noticed. You’re in a testy mood, but when the phone rings you feign cheer while talking to a friend. Strangely, after hanging up, you no longer feel so grumpy. Such is the value of social occasions–they impel us to behave as if we were happy, which in fact helps free us from our unhappiness.

Granted, we can’t expect ourselves to become more upbeat and socially confident overnight. But rather than limply resign ourselves to our current traits and emotions, we can stretch ourselves, step by step. Rather than waiting until we feel like making those calls or reaching out to that person, we can begin. If we are too anxious, modest, or indifferent, we can pretend, trusting that before long the pretense will diminish as our actions ignite a spark inside–the spark that will lead to happiness.

Source: PreventDisease.com

Perhaps we inherently know this: when we feel happier and more content, our heart literally feels more at ease, as does the rest of our body. Conversely, when we’re stressed, we often feel the immediate effects physically. Now research proves our innate assumptions to be true:

Researchers in Europe discovered a unique independent relationship between positive emotions and coronary heart disease, for the first time ever. Appearing in the latest issue of the leading cardiology publication European Heart Journal, the study shows that happiness, content and enthusiasm are among the emotions that may be tied to a much better level of health, regardless of age and gender. The new, major review showed that happier people tend to experience a lot less hearth problems that those who spent less time laughing or feeling good.

According to scientists involved in the new observational investigation, the conclusions were produced only by looking at how people evolved over time. But the leader of the work, Dr Karina Davidson, an expert at the Columbia University Medical Center, says that the results could in the near future inform physicians on developing new approaches to safeguarding people from the risk of developing heart conditions. The scientist adds that more studies are needed on the issue, before medical recommendations can be given by experts without any risks

“We desperately need rigorous clinical trials in this area. If the trials support our findings, then these results will be incredibly important in describing specifically what clinicians and/or patients could do to improve health,” she explains. Davidson is the director of the CUMC Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health, as well as the Herbert Irving associate professor of medicine and psychiatry at the university. This latest study was conducted on 1,739 healthy adults, over a period of about ten years. All the 862 men and the 977 females in the investigation were a part of the 1995 Nova Scotia Health Survey, PhysOrg reports.

Source: Softpedia.com

It seems that we all feel some pangs of the winter blues. But SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is an even more profound psychological condition that can really wreak havoc for some in the winter months. While this condition is not fully understood by doctors, it’s thought to be related to the amounts of melatonin and serotonin in your body.

If you feel like you’re feeling SAD or just seem to be in a bit of a cold weather funk, here are few practical steps you can take:

Phototherapy:

Research shows that more than 80 percent of those treated with bright light exposure experience relief from their SAD-related symptoms. People who were exposed to bright (10,000 lux) fluorescent light for at least 30 minutes per day showed improvement in two days to four weeks.

Recent studies suggest that SAD sufferers can receive the same benefits by walking outdoors for an hour a day. Even on overcast days, natural sunlight provides enough light to help alleviate symptoms.

Exercise:

Several studies at Duke University suggest that exercise plays a key role in recovery from depression as well as prevention of relapse. Since SAD responds to the same treatments that have been successful in relieving other types of depression, the results of these studies are relevant.

In one study, researchers found that patients who engaged in brisk exercise for 30 minutes three times weekly were just as likely to experience a decrease in their depressive symptoms as patients who were treated with medication only. Researchers then followed participants for another six months, and found that those who exercised were unlikely to experience a relapse. Only 8 percent of the exercisers became depressed again. Patients who exercised and took medication relapsed at the rate of 31 percent, and those who took medication had a 38 percent relapse rate.

If you don’t already exercise regularly, try incorporating a brisk 30-minute walk into your day three times each week. In addition to mitigating depressive symptoms, this level of activity contributes to overall physical well-being, especially cardiovascular health.

Sources of Steps: author Dawn Williams

Okay, so I’m writing this from firsthand experience. I’m very ill with a flu. When I first realized I was coming down with it, I became very frustrated. I have work to do! I have people to see and places to be. This flu was going to cost me. (Little did I realize that that very attitude may have lead to my illness in the first place. We all try to squeeze so much into a day, that our immune system often pays a price.)

On the first day - the worst day - I realized I could do nothing. And I mean literally nothing. I tried to work but my focus was not there. I was too preoccupied by my own nagging physical discomfort. When I stopped trying to work, I realized that while I was sick, the day was mine, to do as I pleased. Of course, it was rather limited. I slept and read and sipped tea.

But the nice part? I never saw a day go by so slowly. The day ambled instead of feeling condensed and compressed. I had a chance to simply watch a day go by. Sounds like a crime in our day and age! We’re not supposed to watch a day go by! We’re supposed to be running, moving, shaking, doing.

So, though I was quite ill, it was one of the most relaxing days I’ve had in a while.

The next time you’re ill, think of it as a strange treat. An opportunity to watch a day go by. And remember, you can do that same thing when you’re not sick!

Here come the holidays, like a giant tidal wave. You can run but you cannot hide! Is there a way to navigate these life landmarks without feeling bowled over?

Sure. It requires simplifying. A few posts ago, we discussed the idea of not overdoing it with gifts this year and figuring out some alternative ways to give.

Since Thanksgiving is a few days away, what can you do to simplify?

1. Be genuinely thankful. Wake up in the morning and spend ten quiet minutes giving thanks for all that is going well in your life. Even if you’re experiencing an extremely challenging time, there are always things for which to give thanks. Think small. Be thankful for a good cup of coffee. A hot shower. A good, old movie that made you cry, The clean, crisp air.

2. Don’t overdo it. It’s become almost tradition to overdo it on the holidays - eating until we’re ready to burst. For the sake of others on this planet who have none, try not to stuff yourself to the gills. Respect your body’s limit. Take a break. Drink water. And wrap up every leftover. Give it to friends or charities who may need some extra. (I have some young college guys who live down the street - they’ll love the extra turkey this Friday!)

3. Make genuine connections. This one may be the hardest. Some of us don’t have “perfect” relations with our families so holidays can be trying and draining. This year, try to move past some of your internal walls. Listen to people with a little more care, extend yourself, be warm, be kind, be grateful for the ways they’ve contributed to your life. In short, give back!

Give back to yourself as well. One technique I’ve mastered? The holiday break! Go for a walk after dinner alone. Go sit with yourself in an empty room and breathe. Take a few minutes to read a book. Break from the pack and reconnect with yourself, even if its for a short period. (This one makes a big difference - trust me!)

Listen - the holidays can be beautiful times but they’re no walk in the park. Its up to you to change the unspoken rules and make them work for you. And it doesn’t take much.

According to some recent research, introducing some negativity into your thinking may not be as bad as you think.

We’ve often heard how important it is to count our blessings. But imagining that those blessings never existed in the first place may be a quicker path to happiness.

How?

According to a new series of studies published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (PDF), positive thinking may not be the way to go after all: Instead, you’ll be better off imagining what your life would be like if one of the positive elements of your life didn’t exist at all.

In one of the studies, some subjects were asked to write for 20 minutes about what might have happened if they’d never met their significant others: Say you’d signed up for a different major in college, you hadn’t gone to that party, or you never bothered to attend the matchmaking dinner at a friend’s house that led you to your spouse. Other subjects were simply asked to reflect upon those blissful beginnings, sharing the stories of how they found their partners.

You might expect that a walk down memory lane to the start of a new love would brighten anyone’s mood—and it did, to some extent. But the researchers found that the subjects who were asked to “subtract” their partner from their lives and consider an alternate reality came out of the experience feeling far happier than those who had shared their true stories.

This seems contradictory to conventional wisdom, in which we are taught that showing gratitude for all we have can increase our happiness. But in a Scientific American article, Sonja Luubomirsky, a psychology professor at UC Davis and the author of The How of Happiness: A New Guide to Getting the Life You Want, suggests that the “subtraction” model used in the new research is still a form of showing appreciation for our lives.

“How else do we strive to appreciate the good things in our lives… if not by implicitly imagining what life would be like without them? “ she asks. “To be grateful for our eyesight, we imagine what it would feel like to be blind; to appreciate our next-door colleague, we contemplate what our work days would be like if he resigned.”

Lesson learned? Counting your blessings may work more effectively when you imagine your life without those blessings in the first place!

Source: Gimundo

Forgiveness is more than just an action or a concept. We all know how powerful it feels when you let go of the anger or attachment of pain when we’ve been hurt by someone’s actions. A higher love takes us over. A deep sense of relief is felt.

But did you know that there are some very practical aspects to forgiveness as well?

According to the Mayo Clinic, here are some other perks to genuinely forgiving and letting go:

Researchers have recently become interested in studying the effects of being unforgiving and being forgiving. Evidence is mounting that holding on to grudges and bitterness results in long-term health problems. Forgiveness, on the other hand, offers numerous benefits, including:

• Lower blood pressure
• Stress reduction
• Less hostility
• Better anger management skills
• Lower heart rate
• Lower risk of alcohol or substance abuse
• Fewer depression symptoms
• Fewer anxiety symptoms
• Reduction in chronic pain
• More friendships
• Healthier relationships
• Greater religious or spiritual well-being
• Improved psychological well-being

As the Swine Flu epidemic increases, we must give pause to the people who have been affected as well as the animals who we continually mistreat around this planet of ours.

That’s why hearing about George Nolan’s story is such positive news. George Nolan used to an avid deer hunter. Not anymore. Not since he met Baby.

Baby was found last spring by the Nolan family in the Michigan woods near their house. He had been abandoned by her mother. The Nolans run a wildlife rescue center and took her in without a thought. Now a connection has to forged that is both kind and touching.

Take a moment to check out this video:

Marcus Marcus, Young Founder of Save the Sharks

As Marcus Marcus puts it so well on his Save the Sharks website:

“One day last autumn I had a day off from day school and went to the water museum, Aquaria, with my mum. Right then there was a school group on a study trip and I sneaked in to listen to the guide.

The school children were mostly giggly and fighting but I stood near the guide so I could hear properly. He explained how a sickening number of sharks are captured to have their fins cut off to make shark fin soup.

I got really angry. On the boat back from Djurgården I decided to save the sharks.

My dad is a web designer and he has helped me make this website.

Here, I want to collect members for a really big shark club called “Save the sharks”. Everyone who wants to protest about the killing of sharks and the eating of shark fin soup should send in their name to my club.

Soon to be translated into a fourth language, the site contains a page where people can add their name to an already 20,000-strong list of protesters from 58 different countries. His recently launched facebook group has also gathered over 1,000 members.

So what are you waiting for? Help the kid realize he can make a difference and, most importantly, help the sharks!

To add your name to the petition contact:  Marcus Marcus, President, savethesharks.info@gmail.com, Save The Sharks Club, www.savethesharks.se

According to some scientists, yes indeed…and scientists aren’t known for their romantic side!

A group of scientists from Stony Brook University studied the scans of brains of new couples and partners who’d been together for 20 year and compared the results.

More specifically, the scientists measured the chemical reactions of each person’s brain when viewing a photo of his or her partner. In many cases, the reaction was stronger in those who’d recently started their relationships. But interestingly enough, close to ten percent of the long-term couples showed the same results, reflecting that same passion as twenty years ago.

“The findings go against the traditional view of romance – that it drops off sharply in the first decade – but we are sure it’s real,” Arthur Aron, one of the researchers, told the Times Online.

At first the researcher believed the couples were exaggerating their emotions but changed his mind after performing the study. “This is what the brain scans tell us and people can’t fake that.”

The researchers have nicknamed the lucky long-term couples “swans,” in honor of another animal that mates for life.

Positive News for "Swans"