No human life is without failure. It’s said that failure is the mother of success. However, failure inevitably leads to negative emotions. These emotions can become stressful and have a detrimental effect on the body and mind. On the other hand, if a task goes well, the positive emotions felt can provide the energy for the next action. So, how can we reduce negative emotions? Empirically, for every negative experience, we need to feel three times as many positive experiences. This means we can overcome the negative emotions.
Research into eliminating stress has been conducted for many years. However, it’s impossible to completely eliminate stress from life. However, some people naturally develop effective ways of dealing with stress. A characteristic of stress-resilient people is high self-esteem. This self-esteem refers to a positive self-evaluation. This means that they view themselves positively and value their own feelings and thoughts. Taking care of yourself and learning ways to cope with and reduce stress are key. Rather than being dominated by stress, you will acquire the skills to control it. People who have learned how to cope can deal with stressors without them becoming a physical or mental hazard. It is generally said that people who can deal with stress as it arise have a high level of stress tolerance. People who have mastered these skills seem to be able to live gracefully in modern society.
One example of this was observed in a monastery, a model of ascetic living. Nuns who wrote many positive experiences in their diaries lived more than 10 years longer than those who did not. Even ascetics can gradually lose their mental energy if they focus only on the negative. There are benefits to focusing on the positive. Negative memories tend to stick. This is a mental defense mechanism that prevents failure. Focusing on the positive and experiencing positive things helps to heal this defense mechanism. One way to prevent physical and mental illness is to consciously focus on the positive by keeping a diary. Writing down three positive experiences that you had that day in your diary can improve your mental and physical health. Anything goes, such as picking up an empty can while on a walk, coming up with an idea, or feeling lighter on your feet.
Increasing physical and mental feelings of pleasure increases happiness. Recent research on happiness has highlighted the importance of health and relationships as factors that increase happiness. Good, stable connections with others are said to be particularly important. The more successful people are, the more they value their relationships and use them as a driving force. Further research has emphasized the fact that the human brain is constantly changing. The brain is plastic, and can change for better or worse. The idea seems to be that if we take advantage of the brain’s reversibility and improve our brains by thinking good things and doing good things, we can enjoy a happier life.
