The placebo effect -getting better from an illness when taking an inactive, or “sugar,” pill or treatment that a person thinks is medicine — has been found to hover around 30% in some large-scale studies. In medicine, that’s a major effect, and any drug that could pull those numbers in clinical trials would be celebrated. In Psychology we know that expectancy effects and self-fulfilling prophecy show us that what we think is true, especially about our self-image or how others view us, is likely to become true over time. Positive Psychology, a thriving area of research and practice, aims to capture and harness the things that make us happier, content, more able to live fulfilled, thriving lives. Good research now takes old jokes about Stuart Smalley’s affirmations and the like and shows us that how we think and what we do to cultivate a good life actually matters quite a bit.
So how can you harness these findings to make improvements in your own life? A few seemingly simple practices can have a profound impact on your outlook and well-being. I offer a few ideas here for your consideration.
Take stock of your strengths and passions, what you’re good at and what you enjoy. And then truly own those. No need to brag or even “humblebrag” about these, but let yourself enjoy some genuine inner satisfaction around the things that are good about you. Well-founded confidence is attractive, whether in work or social situations, or even in reflecting on one’s own day.
Follow the classic wisdom to “stop and smell the roses.” In previous posts about mindfulness I talked about the value of deliberately being present in the moments of one’s life. In this case, we are talking about taking a moment to tune in and enjoy what is good in your life. What do you appreciate about your home, your relationships, your health, or your working life? Keeping a gratitude journal or making comments out loud about what we appreciate can do a lot to focus our attention on all of the positive feelings and associations/memories we have around the things we enjoy or feel blessed by.
When encountering a social situation, notice some of your usual thoughts about how others may view you, and how you expect to be treated. Then try a little experiment, in which you deliberately cultivate a slightly (or largely) more positive expectation, and see what happens. This may sound like a recipe for narcissism, but stop and think for a minute about your own behavior over time and circumstances. I know for myself that, when I am with people whom I like and who I think respect, like, or enjoy me, I am far more likely to be relaxed, funnier or even sharper in my thinking. When I am in situations where I imagine that others aren’t interested or don’t like me, my behavior can be defensive, or strained, or somehow inauthentic, as though I’m trying too hard to please. In acting on our own expectancies of self and others, we can create a particular outcome. So going into a situation expecting to find things I like about the other, or to connect positively, or to be well-received, increases the likelihood of me acting as if it’s true, thereby making it true…….
Take time to play. Enjoy a bit of time in your day or week to do something fun, without necessarily having a goal in mind. Allowing ourselves space to play and create, in any area of life, frees us to try new things, to access parts of ourselves that we may not express often enough, and, for the purpose of this discussion, to let go of our expectations for the outcome. Freeing the mind from its familiar pathways can lead to new learning and feeling, thereby changing our ideas about who we are and what we’re capable of.
Harnessing the power of the mind for our emotional and physical health has great potential, and our expectations can go well beyond a placebo effect in our daily lives. We’ll focus on applications for physical health in a future post. As always, I look forward to hearing how it goes if you try these practices.
