Feeling positive about wellbeing

ARE you a positive person?

Is your glass half full or half empty?

Would you like to improve your life, to feel more content and improve your wellbeing? If your answer is yes, then Julie McCall and her colleague Brenda Roche may have the solution.

They are wellbeing coaches, both with a Masters in Positive Psychology who use scientifically tested techniques and exercises to help people improve their wellbeing and find ways to flourish in life.

“Fifty percent of our wellbeing is down to genetic factors; 10% is due to our life circumstances at any given time, but the remaining 40% of our wellbeing is within our control. How we approach that 40% has a huge impact on everyday wellbeing,’’ explains Julie.

“It is not about being happy all the time. Happiness is more transient, but wellbeing is looking at a broader picture. I think at the moment, especially with the current economic climate, people have a negativity bias, so what we try to do is improve their satisfaction with their life.’’

They do this by using Martin Seligman’s theory of well-being (PERMA), which contains five elements; positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment.

Julie says it is important for people to learn how to apply the theory to their own lives. So, to improve their positive emotions, they need to learn to get a 3:1 positive ratio with every negative feeling..

“We ask people to make a play list of things that they like to do. If somebody says something hurtful that tends to stick, doesn’t it? So, in order to counteract that one negative emotion, you need three positive feelings. You don’t have to be happy all the time, but it is about understanding and not dwelling on those feelings and make yourself feel better,’’ says Julie.

If you are a glass half empty person, Julie insists “you can change’’ simply by doing their exercises and focusing on the positive aspects of your life. They suggest writing down every night three good things that have happened that day.

“It really shifts people’s focus from thinking ‘Oh, I didn’t get that done,’ or ‘I wasn’t very good at that’ to actually thinking they have achieved a lot.’’ Julie also believes that people look for happiness in the ‘wrong places’,’ like having more money but in fact it is the ‘simple things’’ in life that gives the most satisfaction.

One of their most popular exercises is making people appreciate a raisin.

“They have to savour the moment. Feel the raisin in the palm of their hand, smell it, savour the texture. It makes them realise that we are all rushing our lives and not appreciating what is beautiful,’’ she explains.

Niamh Goold, who is a training manager for RCI a travel company in Mahon, Cork, attended one of their workshops for her work and “loved it.’’ She was impressed that everybody learnt something from it, despite all their different backgrounds and came away with a completely different mindset.

“We were very diverse, people had come from different countries, had different languages, backgrounds, so had different perspectives, but the key message we all learnt was that we are all in control of our own destiny,’’ she explains.

“We all had the tools to improve our wellbeing, but they helped us find the tools. The coping mechanisms that they shared with us were also really beneficial.

“To get a balance in life, it made me appreciate things more and not spend time wishing for what you don’t have.’’

* For details of a one-day workshop in Cork on Sept 21 see: www.libracoaching.com or www.rosecommunications.ie