Positive psychology is a type of psychological approach. Just like you’d infer from the name, it focuses on the positive aspects of one’s character, feelings, and life, using that positivity to improve their outlook and overall well-being.

What Is Positive Psychology?

Positive psychology is a type of scientific approach that focuses on improving one’s life by catering to the positive aspects of their day-to-day instead of the negative. The idea is that positivity is a strong force when it comes to operating throughout your day-to-day life.

This approach focuses on positive experiences, positive states and traits, and positive institutions. So the focus would be on feelings like happiness, joy, love, and excitement, and positive characteristics like resilience and kindness.

Does Positive Psychology Avoid Everything Negative?

Yes, positive psychology avoids focusing on weaknesses or negative traits and events. So it will not focus on feelings like fear, anxiety, or sadness. It also won’t focus on perceived weaknesses like lack of compassion or rudeness.

However, there is a way to use positive psychology to improve your weaknesses or the negativity in your life. For example, if you hate that you’re shy but know that you’re courageous, you can focus on being brave and strong when approaching situations that make you feel shy and anxious.

Application of positive behavior and strengths can help address the negative or less favorable.

Positive Psychology Topics

When asking yourself the question “What is positive psychology?” you may also wonder what topics it covers. Some of the specific topics studied through positive psychology include:

  • Character strengths
  • Optimism
  • Life satisfaction
  • Happiness
  • Well-being
  • Gratitude
  • Compassion
  • Self-confidence
  • Self-esteem

The idea is that focusing on these areas can help encourage a person to adjust their perspective and make other shifts to optimize their well-being and boost their overall quality of living. With the right attention and diligence, this practice then aims to help people reach their full potential and find happiness each day.

How to Apply Positive Psychology?

There are many different ways through which you can practice positive psychology in your own life. Doing so may help improve your outlook and overall well-being. Keep reading for examples of positive psychology applications.

What Is Positive Psychology (In Plain English) And How To Apply It?

1. Make a List of All the Good Things Happened Before Going to Bed

Before you go to bed, remember what made you happy today, and ideally make a list. Then look ahead to tomorrow. By recalling happy events before going to bed, we tend to have good dreams.

On the contrary, the dreams of depressed people are often full of failure and rejection. So, we can self-hypnotize every day before going to bed and have happy dreams by fantasizing about good things.

2. Never Dwell on the Past

Different from Freud’s claims, positive psychology believes that childhood and the traumas of the time are not that important and are not decisive for the development of personality. On the contrary, viewing wounds from time to time is detrimental to their healing.

Therefore, it is better to let bygones be bygones and not dwell on past misfortunes. We should focus on the future and its possibilities.

3. Practice Gratitude

Take time each day to consider what you’re grateful for. It can be as big or as small as you wish.

Examples might include the fact that you have a home, that you have food to eat, that you have a great job, or that you have loved ones who mean a lot to you. Thinking through what you’re grateful for can help overshadow negative experiences in your life.

4. Strive to be Optimistic

Challenge yourself to be optimistic and see the positive things in life. Be hopeful of what a good outcome could be and try to avoid focusing on negative scenarios.

For example, if you know you could either win or lose at a certain challenge, focus on winning or at least having fun if you do lose.

5. Cater to Your Personal Well-Being

Prioritize your personal well-being at all times. Listen to your mind and your body and be conscious of when you need rest or nourishment.

Do your best to take breaks when you need them, sleep an adequate amount, and eat in a way that’s healthy and makes you feel replenished and energized. There may be other activities that support your well-being like taking a bath, taking time to journal, or participating in your favorite hobby.

6. Nurture Your Strengths

Pay attention to what your strengths are, exercise them, and build on them. If you’re good at something in particular, do that thing, recognize your skillset, and work toward mastery.

For example, if you’re good at exercising compassion, take up a new volunteering role and work toward giving back to the community in a way that showcases your compassion.

7. Journal Regularly

Positive psychology frequently asserts the benefits of journaling. Try to do this at least once a day and take time to write down all of the good things happening in your life.

What positive emotions did you have that day? What happy events took place? What were you particularly grateful for? This can be a simple way to give you a more positive outlook on life.

Three Levels of Positive Psychology

When learning more about positive psychology, you may also come across three different levels, including subjective, individual, and group. At a high level, they mean:

  1. Subjective Level: A focus on your feelings and well-being that includes emotions like happiness, gratitude, and optimistic outlook.
  2. Individual Level: A focus on the subjective combined with your virtues and qualities like the fact that you’re strong, courageous, loving, and kind.
  3. Group Level: A focus on how you interact with others both in your personal relationships and in the community like when you care for others, give back to those around you, and practice overall responsibility and altruism.

With the right time and attention, the goal of positive psychology is to practice all three levels to reap the most benefits of this practice.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in bettering your outlook on life and experiencing improved well-being, positive psychology could be perfect for you. Consider what it means and how it’s applied, and determine if it’s something you’d like to start practicing to live a brighter, happier life.

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