What do we know about positive psychology? Positive psychology or the science of being happy Modern positive psychology.

What is the recipe for happiness? How is it measured? How to find it? Can happiness come from money, love or professional success?

Deals with the secrets of happiness positive psychology- a branch of psychological knowledge and psychological practice, the center of which is the positive potential of a person.

Until now, psychology has focused on weaknesses a person, perceiving him as a victim of other people and circumstances, describing and classifying human misfortunes. Positive psychology proposes to change the paradigm of modern psychology:

• from negativity to positivity;
• from the concept of illness to the concept of health;
• draw the attention of psychologists to what people do well and with pleasure;
• to make a person’s life more fulfilling, and not just to relieve him of psychological disorders.

The work of a positive psychologist is not to tell a person what his misfortune is, but to discover the strong qualities of his personality, teach him to use them effectively to realize all his talents and opportunities in life. privacy, professional and social activities. Moreover, developing in oneself top quality, a person accumulates necessary resource to overcome negative mental states such as stress, depression, etc.

Although the ideas of positivity in psychology and psychotherapy were discussed earlier by humanistic psychologists, positive psychology took shape as a science only in the late 1990s, at the suggestion of Martin Seligman, President of the American Psychological Association, who proposed to his colleagues a new approach to the study of the human psyche, based on realistic optimism.

Creativity also plays a vital role in modern positive psychology. Louise Hay, whose very life was an undeniable example of the fruitfulness of positive thinking; And Rhonda Byrne, creators of the acclaimed film "Secret", revealing the laws of success with the help quantum physics, medicine, psychology, philosophy, metaphysics, etc. "The Secret" explains the materialization of thoughts and feelings by the universal "Law of Attraction" and teaches you how to take advantage of the abundance of the Universe.

Among domestic psychologists, first of all, it should be noted such famous people, How:

• M. Norbekov, author of a balanced system of self-healing of the body,
• A. Sviyash, creator of an effective methodology for human interaction with the outside world and conflict-free achievement of goals,
• G. Sytin, founder of the new scientific direction of self-restoration of health during illness and aging,
• V. Sinelnikov, author of techniques that allow one to identify the causes of illnesses and failures hidden in the subconscious and eliminate them,
• N. Pravdina, recognized expert in the psychology of success and wealth, professional Feng Shui consultant,
• and many others…

In the works of positive psychologists, one can highlight the simplest techniques for an independent positive attitude:

• Positive Affirmations (affirmations)— positive statements that help you change your way of thinking, formulate your desires and goals for the future, stimulating positive changes in life. For example: "I good man and deserves the best in life", "The flow of money in my life is increasing" or “I enjoy my job and my skills are improving every day.”
• Positive attitude- faith that everything will work out. His key phrases are: "I can", "I am worthy", "I will do" etc.
• Positive thinking- system of views on the world, based on the following basic concepts:
  • the world is fair and there is no one to blame;
  • the world is abundant;
  • self-love is the basis of life;
  • a person himself is responsible for everything that happens to him;
  • everything that happens to a person only reflects the thoughts in his head;
  • Each person, through his subconscious, gains access to the creation of his life.

With the help of these techniques, you can learn to look at the world “correctly”, describing events in a positive way. There is a famous example about a glass filled to half. An optimist perceives the glass as half full, while a pessimist perceives it as half empty. This does not change the glass in any way. But one person is more often happy from such a perception of life, while another is sad. It turns out, we choose how we react to this or that event in our lives.

Thinking determines a person’s destiny, and if your thoughts are positive, you are guaranteed happiness and health!

Ecology of life: Constantly trying to “think positively” and “become the best version themselves" led people to an epidemic of depression...

Forced happiness

Danish psychologist Sven Brinkman believes that Constant attempts to “think positively” and “become the best version of ourselves” have led people to an epidemic of depression. In his opinion, it’s high time to fire coaches and start reading good fiction novels instead of self-development literature.

Alpina Publisher published it book “The end of the era of self-help: How to stop improving yourself”- he offers seven rules that will allow you to get rid of imposed positive psychology.

We are publishing an excerpt.

The tyranny of positivity

Barbara Held, a distinguished American professor of psychology, has long criticized a phenomenon she calls "tyranny of positivity".

According to her, the idea of ​​positive thinking has spread especially widely in the United States, but also in many other countries. Western countries In home-grown psychology, there is an opinion that you need to “think positively,” “focus on internal resources,” and consider problems as interesting “challenges.” Even seriously ill people are expected to “learn from” their illness and, ideally, become stronger.

In countless self-help books and “suffering stories,” people with physical and mental illnesses say that they would not like to avoid a crisis because they learned so much from it.

I think many of those who are seriously ill or going through some other life crisis feel pressure to be positive about the situation. But very few people say out loud that actually getting sick is terrible and it would be better if it never happened to them.

Usually the title of such books looks like this: “How I survived stress and what I learned,” and you are unlikely to find a book “How I experienced stress and nothing good came of it.” Not only do we experience stress, get sick and die, but we also have to think that all this teaches us a lot and enriches us.

If, like me, it seems to you that something is clearly wrong here, then you should learn to pay more attention to the negative and thus fight the tyranny of the positive. This will give you another support to stand firmly on your feet.

We need to reclaim the right to think that sometimes things are just bad, period.

Fortunately, many psychologists have begun to recognize this, such as critical psychologist Bruce Levine. In his opinion, the first way health professionals make people's problems worse is by advising victims to change their attitude towards the situation.“Just look at it positively!” is one of the worst phrases you can say to someone in trouble.By the way, tenth on Levin’s list is “depoliticization of human suffering.” This means that all sorts of human problems are attributed more to the shortcomings of people (low motivation, pessimism, and so on) than to external circumstances.

Positive psychology

As already mentioned, Barbara Held is one of the most vocal critics of positive psychology. This area of ​​research began to develop rapidly in the late nineties.

Positive psychology can be seen as a scientific reflection of the obsession with positivity in modern culture. Its prosperity began in 1998, when Martin Seligman became president of the American Psychological Association. Before this, he was known mainly for his theory of learned helplessness as a factor in depression.

Learned helplessness is a state of apathy, or at least a lack of will to change a painful experience, even when it is possible to avoid the pain.

The basis for this theory was experiments in which dogs were given electric shocks. When Seligman got tired of torturing animals (which is understandable) and wanted something more life-affirming, he turned to positive psychology.

Positive psychology no longer puts human problems and suffering at the center of attention, which was characteristic of this science before (Seligman sometimes calls ordinary psychology “negative”). Rather, it is a scientific exploration of the good aspects of life and human nature. In particular, the question of what happiness is, how to achieve it, and what positive character traits exist is considered.

After becoming president of the association, Seligman used his position to promote positive psychology. He succeeded so well that now there are even separate learning programs, centers and scientific journals dedicated to this topic. Few - if any - concepts in psychology have spread so rapidly and widely to the masses.

That positive psychology has so quickly become part of the culture of acceleration and a tool for optimization and development is thought-provoking.

Of course, it is completely normal to study the factors that make our lives better and increase our performance. However, in the hands of trainers and coaches - or inspired leaders who have undergone short courses on “positive leadership”, - positive psychology is quickly becoming handy tool suppress criticism.

Sociologist Rasmus Villig even talks about positive fascism, which, in his opinion, manifests itself in both positive thinking and the concept of a positive approach to change. This concept describes a form of mind control that occurs when a person is allowed to think about life only in a positive way.

In my own way personal experience I can add that my most negative experience in conducting scientific discussions is undoubtedly associated with positive psychology. A couple of years ago I was critical of positive psychology in women's magazine and the newspaper, and the reaction was very stormy and unexpected.

Three Danish experts who are professionally involved in positive psychology (and whose names I will not mention here) accused me of “scientific dishonesty” and sent a complaint to the leadership of my university. The charge of scientific dishonesty is the most serious charge that exists in the scientific system.

The complaint stated that I portrayed positive psychology in a decidedly bad light and deliberately confused the field of research with practical application.

Fortunately, the university categorically rejected the complaint, but this reaction bothered me greatly. Instead of writing a letter to the editor and engaging in open discussion, positive psychologists decided to denigrate me as a professional to the university administration.

I mention this incident because I see some irony in the fact that positive psychologists so actively avoid open scientific discussion. Apparently, there are still limits to openness and a positive approach!

(Fortunately, I hasten to add, not all positive psychologists behave this way.)

Paradoxically,this incident confirmed my idea of ​​the tyranny of positivity. Negativity and criticism (especially of positive psychology itself!) must be eradicated. Obviously, any means are good here.

Positive, constructive, receptive leader

If you've ever encountered positive psychology (for example, at school, at work, at staff development events) and been asked to talk about successes when you wanted to talk about an annoying problem, then you may have felt awkward, although didn't understand why. Who doesn’t want to be a productive and competent specialist and develop further? In any case, modern managers willingly evaluate and encourage their subordinates. […]

The modern leader no longer acts as a tough and strong authority who gives orders and makes decisions. He practices a form of soft power by “inviting” employees to talk about “success” in order to “achieve maximum enjoyment at work.”

Forget that there is still a clear asymmetry of power between management and subordinates, and some goals are much more realistic than others.

For example, recently at my (otherwise wonderful) job they asked me to formulate a “vision” for the development of our institute. When I said that we should strive to become a mid-sized institution, there was no excitement. I meant that this is a realistic and achievable goal for a small university in a Danish province.

But now everything has to be “world class” or in the “top 5”, and the path there is undoubtedly only accessible to those who are focused on opportunity and success. This can be called forced positivity.Only the best will do, and to achieve it, you just need to not be afraid to dream and think positively.

Blaming the victim

As critics of forced positivity, including the aforementioned Barbara Held, argue, over-focusing on the positive can lead to a phenomenon called “victim blaming”.

This means that all kinds of human suffering or troubles are explained by the fact that a person is not optimistic and positive enough about life, or that he does not have enough “positive illusions”, which are advocated by some psychologists, including Seligman.

Positive illusions- these are a person’s internal ideas about himself, slightly distorted for the better.

That is, a person considers himself a little smarter, more capable and more effective than he actually is. The research, although not entirely clear, suggests that people who suffer from depression actually view themselves more realistically than those who do not suffer from depression.

However, there are concerns that because of the positivity approach, society demands people to be positive and happy, and this paradoxically creates suffering as many feel guilty if they are not always happy and successful. […]

“Life is difficult, but that in itself is not a problem. The problem is that we are made to think that life is not difficult.”

Another reason for criticism, which is nevertheless related to the previous one, is downplaying the role of context, which is characteristic of some aspects of the positive approach. If it is argued that a person’s happiness does not depend on external factors (socio-economic status, etc.), which supposedly play a very insignificant role, but on internal ones, then it is your own fault if you are unhappy.

As Seligman writes in his bestseller “The Pursuit of Happiness,” only 8–15% of happiness is determined by external circumstances - for example, whether a person lives in a democracy or a dictatorship, whether he is rich or poor, healthy or sick, educated or not.

The most important source of happiness, Seligman argues, lies in “internal factors” that are amenable to “conscious control.”

For example, you can create positive feelings, gratitude, forgive offenders, be optimistic and, of course, rely on your key strengths that every person has.

It turns out that in order to become happy, you need to find your strengths, realize them and develop positive feelings in yourself. The emphasis on “innerness”, which is supposedly subject to conscious control, leads to the problematic ideology that one must simply keep up and evolve—specifically, develop the capacity for positive thinking—in order to survive in a culture of acceleration.

Grumbling

Barbara Held offers an alternative to forced positivity - complaints . She even wrote a book where she talks about how to learn to grumble. It's like self-help literature for complainers. The book is called Stop Smiling, Start Kvetching.

“Kvetch” is a Yiddish word, and it is most accurately translated as “grumbling.”

I'm no expert on Jewish culture (most of my knowledge of it comes from Woody Allen films), but I think the tradition of complaining about anything and everything contributes to happiness and contentment. How nice it is to get together and grumble! This provides extensive topics for conversation and a certain sense of solidarity.

The main idea of ​​Held's book is that In life, everything is never absolutely good. Sometimes things just aren't that bad. This means there will always be reasons for complaints.

Real estate prices are falling - one can complain about the depreciation of capital. If real estate prices are rising, you can complain about how superficially everyone around you discusses your growing capital.

Life is difficult, but according to Held, that in itself is not a problem. The problem is that we are made to think that life is not difficult. When asked how we are, we are expected to say, “Everything is great!” Although in reality everything is very bad, because your husband cheated on you.

By learning to focus on the negative—and complain about it—you can develop a mechanism that helps make life more bearable.

However, grumbling is not only a way to cope with difficult situations.The freedom to complain comes with the ability to face reality and accept it as it is.This gives us human dignity, in contrast to the behavior of the eternally positive person who vehemently insists that there is no such thing as bad weather (only bad clothes). It happens, Mr. Lucky. And how nice it is to complain about the weather while sitting at home with a mug of hot tea!

We need to take back our right to grumble, even if it doesn't lead to positive change. But if it can lead to them, then all the more important.

And note that grumbling is always directed outward. We complain about the weather, the politicians, the football team. It's not us who are to blame, it's them! A positive approach, on the contrary, is directed inward - if something is wrong, you need to work on yourself and your motivation. We have ourselves to blame for everything.

Unemployed people should not complain about the social assistance system - otherwise they can be branded as lazy - because they can simply pull themselves together, start thinking positively and find a job.

You just have to “believe in yourself” - but this is a one-sided approach that reduces the most important social, political and economic problems to a question of the motivation and positivity of the individual. […] published . If you have any questions about this topic, ask them to the experts and readers of our project .

© Sven Brinkman

Tatiana Ginzburg,

Doctor of Psychology

“Is it possible to create a direction in psychology that studies positive character traits?

Is there a classification of character traits that help a person live?

And can adults learn to live happier and more fully realized?”

Martin Seligman

I first met positive psychology, at the 2010 American Association of Transpersonal Psychology conference in California. One of the plenary reports was devoted to this area, and what I remember most is that the report was based on the question: “Will Monica Lewinsky forgive Bill?” The speaker said that he had been researching the phenomenon of “forgiveness” for many years, and this topic caused a strong public outcry at the height of the scandal associated with Bill Clinton. Then, suddenly, it turned out that the problem of “forgiveness” was relevant for many Americans, and the speaker, Fred Luskin, used this example to tell us that the advantage of positive psychology over transpersonal psychology is that it touches the hearts of most people, because it strives to solve “urgent issues” .

At that time, the liveliness of the report and the speaker was enough for me to note to myself that, perhaps, positive psychology is something interesting.

A couple of years later, while looking for a gift for my teacher, I saw a book in the store - “FLOW”. We once published a magazine of the same name, so the very word “Flow” evoked positive associations in me, and after quickly flipping through it, I decided to buy it. It turned out that this is a book by the classic of positive psychology - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. GenShi, my teacher, read it with interest and I learned that according to Csikszentmihalyi, the basic concept of correct and happy life– this is “flow”, “living in the flow”...

Flow , or state of optimal experience, is a state when performing an activity that is characterized by clarity of goals and complete concentration, a sense of impact and feedback, complete immersion and lack of effort, a sense of control, lack of worry about failure, self-forgetfulness, stopping time ( Csikszentmihalyi, 2011a).

To date, through research, it has become known under what conditions the state of flow arises and intensifies. One of the main ones: balance and high level skill/high challenge situation.

As I began to look deeper, I discovered that

On the one side:

Positive psychology began as a new branch of psychology in 1998, when Martin Seligman, having become president of the American Psychological Association, chose this topic as a guide for the Association during his presidency. The term itself belongs to Maslow, and was first used in his book: “Motivation and Personality.”

Martin Seligman focused specifically on research on happiness and success. He, in his first book, “Authentic Happiness,” wrote: “ For the first half of the century, psychology dealt with a single topic: mental illnesses ", reflecting on Maslow's comments. He encouraged psychologists to embrace the early mission of psychology and nurture talent while improving quality of life.

Thus, positive psychology was born as

branch of humanistic psychology that focuses on task to explore evolved human beings and the methods of human development towards happiness and perfection.

That is, essentially "positive psychology" - this is an accentuation of the humanistic direction , supported by the good administrative resources of the President of the American Psychological Association.

On the other side,

There is also some novelty in approaches in positive psychology. In my opinion, what is new in relation to other psychological approaches is idea of ​​virtues.

Martin Seligman developed the concept of the basic human virtues, the development of which allows people to achieve happiness. More precisely, he identified six main groups of virtues, in each of which he distinguished several more positive human qualities (strengths):

1. Wisdom and knowledge: creativity, curiosity, openness, love of learning, ability to see the future, innovation (inventiveness).
2. Courage: courage, diligence, integrity, liveliness.
3. Humanity: love, kindness, social adaptability.
4. Justice: collectivism (citizenship), honesty, leadership qualities.
5. Restraint: forgiveness (mercy), humility, prudence (caution), self-control.
6. Transcendence: inspiration by beauty, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality.

Also, he initiated the creation of a manual “ "(Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV)), which represents the first attempt by part of the scientific community to identify and classify positive psychological qualities person, just like a manual for diagnosing mental problems DSM-IV (D iagnostic and S tatitical M anual of mental disorders) classifies diseases for classical psychology.

Probably, such a step is revolutionary for all psychological thought.

In the manual " Personal qualities and virtues" it is assumed that the 6 virtues have a historical basis in most human cultures, and furthermore, the development of these virtues can lead to increased levels of happiness.

Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi define positive psychology as “the scientific study of positive human functioning and thriving on many levels, including biological, personal, relational, social institutions, cultural, and global dimensions of life."

Thus, positive psychology is the main scientific discipline studying human happiness.

Positive psychologists (of course not only them) have looked at a number of factors that influence happiness.

Age,

Floor,

Personal finance,

Birth of children,

Marriage,

Education and many others...

But a careful study of the results of these studies, given in the English-language Wikipedia, is disappointing with the inconsistency of its results. In almost all parameters, various patterns have been found, often contradicting each other.

For example,

About “Gender” the English-language Wikipedia says:

“Over the past 33 years, significant declines in women's happiness have led researchers to realize that men are happier than women. (Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2009). The paradox of declining female happiness. "American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. Retrieved June 5, 2011)

Part of this may be because men and women differ in how they rate their happiness. Women are based on positive self-esteem, intimacy in relationships and religion. Men have positive self-esteem, active recreation and mental control. Therefore, neither men nor women have any particular advantage in being happier than the other.”

Almost the same texts about the birth of children, and about age, and many other average parameters of human life. Nevertheless, scientists continue to look for patterns that influence a person’s state of happiness.

Thus,

Positive psychology is a branch of psychology that uses Scientific research with the goal of helping a person lead a more joyful and happy life. person to create conditions for their implementation, and select methods that increase the likelihood of self-realization. The main goal of this process is to ensure a happier existence for a person.

In conclusion, I would also like to note that positive psychology attracted my attention because it is the closest analogue of the unique system of human development that I created and cultivated in Russia. This system is called School of Game Technicians(SHI), and is based on the fact that a person has a system of qualities that we called “talents”. Most of the talents, although we chose them independently of the developments of positive psychology, are nevertheless very similar to Seligman’s virtues. The differences between these systems, perhaps, are that in the approach of the School of Game Technicians, talents are built into a system (scale) from simple to complex, and this scale helps a person navigate the development of his qualities, moving from simpler ones (strength and dexterity), and differentiated talents, to more and more complex and integrated ones (mindfulness, kindness).

In addition, at HI, a methodology for developing talents is being developed and constantly cultivated, and not “on average,” but in an individual approach to each specific person. Breathing techniques are also actively used in our methodology.

However, even the approach demonstrated by positive psychology, which highlights virtues as a guideline for a person, is, in our opinion, innovative and promising.

The main step of this branch of psychology, in our opinion, is the appearance of an image of a person developing and approaching perfection.

I hope that these ideas will receive further development, and the novelty of the approach to human development will open up great opportunities for the development of new psychological directions.

We are waiting for you at our seminars!

20

Soul binding 05.10.2016

Dear readers, today on the blog we will continue the topics of positive psychology. And Elena Khutornaya, the leader of the column, is with us again. For those who came to our column for the first time, I will introduce Elena: blogger, writer, web designer, wonderful, warm and very wise person. And Lena also edits all the articles in our magazine Scents of Happiness. Today Lena offers us a topic for conversation: “The pitfalls of positive psychology.”

I read the article with great interest. I always look forward to Lena's topics. I think that we all have something to think about again, think about, and most importantly, learn to calmly accept everything that happens in our lives. I won't get ahead of things. I give the floor to Lena.

Positive psychology is definitely a good thing. Positivity means a lot in our lives, no one can argue with that, and often our optimism and positive attitude are crucial for solving problems, because only they help us ultimately find a successful way out of many situations.

But as life has shown, sometimes this positive teaching that we try to follow misleads us, which sooner or later leads to disappointment. How does this happen?

We expect everything to always be fine

We learn to be positive for what? So that everything in life is good - of course, that’s exactly why. And so we try, work on ourselves, grow spiritually, make efforts to cope with our complexes, grievances, wrong beliefs, so that they do not interfere with the flow of positive energy in us. And at some point we suddenly really understand that we have largely achieved our goal, that we have become cleaner, freer, that we forgive and let go more easily, we wish everyone well and are full of light and warmth... And then - once, something happens some trouble in life.

The first reaction on our part is – how? for what? After all, they did everything right, they worked on themselves, they wished well to everyone, they forgave, and then suddenly it’s on you... After all, this shouldn’t happen, it’s unfair!.. And as a result, we begin to slide into resentment and indignation towards life, while finally moving away from principles of positive psychology, which completely did not live up to our hopes.

But it is clear that resentment and indignation are definitely not something you should fall into in such cases, because nothing good will ever come from them. But how can you explain this phenomenon to yourself, when you are so correct and positive, but all sorts of nonsense still happens to you?

Trouble is inevitable

And the explanation is this. Firstly, only at first glance it always seems that something happens for no reason. Of course, there is always a reason, and it, of course, always lies in us, so if it has happened, then there is no point in asking questions about justice, but we must look for what this justice consists of. Sometimes we simply don’t notice that something is happening to us, that again we have deviated from our straight line in the wrong direction, fallen into pride, or become overly fixated on something, or for many other reasons, and then this direction is needed correct.

And secondly, even if troubles or difficulties are not a response to our wrong behavior or thoughts, they always serve some other purpose - for example, they help us understand something that we would not understand without this experience and that in the end makes our life better. Or somehow renew our feelings, remind us of what we need to value in our lives, and reawaken this joy in us. And again, we ourselves need this, because feelings become dulled, sensations are erased, and this is inevitable, because that’s how people are, that’s how life is.

So no matter how wonderful and positive-minded we are, life is life, and troubles are an integral part of it - you just need to accept this thought. And they happen to everyone, to optimists and pessimists, but what is really important and affects everything is how we relate to these troubles and how we experience them. Because the point is not to get rid of these troubles once and for all, but to learn to perceive them correctly.

How to cope with adversity from a positive psychology perspective

For example, you feel a cold coming on, but it’s such a time, well, you can’t get sick at all - there are important things to do at work, or a once-in-a-lifetime holiday is coming up, and you don’t want to miss it, or someone close to you is already sick , so you really can’t lie down. But no, you already feel a sore throat, and your eyes are watering, and your head hurts so unbearably that you want to disconnect it from your body so that it doesn’t bother you so much...

Here you can curse everything in the world, start tearing out your hair, say to yourself with a feeling of maximum tragedy - well, I knew that some nasty thing would definitely happen and ruin everything for me. As luck would have it, the whole world is against me, now, of course, I’ll finally fall ill, I’ll get sick, nothing will work out at work, the holiday will pass without me, and how could I doubt that this will happen, because this is always what happens... And really, who would doubt that with such an attitude towards everything, this is exactly what will happen - as luck would have it.

But you can look at this differently. Because “as luck would have it” happens only because of our thoughts and attitude. And if the mood is different, then everything will go differently.

Yeah, I have a sore throat, a headache, and there are all sorts of important things that I would really like to take part in. Go make yourself some tea with honey and lemon, tea tree for your nose, woolen socks for your feet. Don’t bother yourself with unnecessary things and live, just continue to live. And then, as everything will be, so it will be. Maybe I don't need these things at work, or maybe I need to think about lowering my excessive expectations about the upcoming task. Tomorrow, too, get treatment, sleep, if it works out, but it doesn’t work out, then also slowly, little by little, without unnecessary splashes, and at the same time be sure to believe that no matter what happens, everything will be for the better.

Everything will work out if you treat it correctly

And it actually works. Either the illness subsides, or the event is postponed, or it turns out that it was really better to skip it - or whatever it may be in the end, but everything always works out somehow. And after that, you can only be surprised every time how life manages to turn everything around in such a way that a successful solution is found for any situation, no matter how clear-cut and hopeless this situation may seem initially.

So a positive attitude is not a myth and there is no need to be disappointed in it, all its principles work perfectly. It’s just that a person is positive not because everything is always good with him. But because he knows how to accept and survive, no matter what happens.

It's easy to be positive when everything is going well for you. But when something not very pleasant happens to you, and at the same time you are still able to maintain optimism and self-confidence, it always turns out to be much more beneficial or even joy in the end, and after that you always say thank you to yourself and life for that that she gave an opportunity and impetus for development, and you coped with it.

Well, as always, we have something to strive for, which is what we will do.

P.S. Friends, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that those pictures with texts that serve as the design for the article also exist in the form of intuitive cards. Intuitive cards are a psychological and esoteric tool that allows you to better hear and understand yourself, achieve spiritual harmony and grow spiritually. You can find out more about them. By clicking on the button.

Intuitive maps of E. Khutornaya

I also hasten to inform you that you can receive intuitive cards and postcards with drawings and affirmations as a GIFT if you take part in the drawing. To become a member, minimal effort is required on your part, read about it here http://e-hutornaya.ru/post/6506

Lenochka, thank you for your thoughts. It is very useful for both optimists and pessimists to read everything. I consider myself an optimist, but, like everyone else, there are different periods. I’m learning to treat your thoughts correctly. And how wonderfully you formatted the post. Wonderful wise thoughts before us, so subtly presented.

And I want to thank you again for your thoughts and for our friendship. I will share our little secrets with our readers. Not long ago I celebrated my birthday and received a package from Lena. It’s simply impossible to convey how many emotions I had. How I adore receiving something as a gift that you would never buy at every turn, when everything is collected just for you and everything is so special. And do you know what was there? Everything is sincere. And including Lena’s intuitive cards.

To be honest, I was somehow far from the topic of cards, but what I saw was completely different. My deck was called “The Wonderful Garden of My Soul.” Nice name, right? Special... And what did I do? Intuitively she pulled out 3 cards for me. Do you know what cards I was dealt? I'll share.

1 card REBIRTH. You change and everything changes. And what was impossible before becomes possible.

2 card PENETRATING WITH EACH OTHER. You feel one thing, I feel another. And this makes us twice as numerous. And our life, our love makes the world a better place.

3 card REPLENISHMENT. What goes away will come back. Joy will be balanced by experiences, sorrows and pleasures. Everything comes into harmony when you understand that this is how it should be.

These are the cards I have. We read everything with my husband, shared it with him, immediately discussed it and smiled…. And you know, it’s definitely all mine, I’ll leave out the details. And Lena began to ask how she could work with them. It turns out there can be a lot of options. And so that this is not fortune telling, as is often said on tea leaves, we can ask questions, but they must be correctly formulated.

Questions could be:

• What will help me achieve my goal?
• What is stopping me from moving towards what I want?
• What will give me the necessary resource to implement my plans?
• What do I need to understand to get closer to my goal?
• What lesson does this experience teach me? What do I need to work on to solve my problem?
• What can help me in this situation?

And before asking a question, you need to formulate the task you want to work on. You can experiment with them as you please, as your heart dictates.

So I started this kind of work on myself. The parcel also contained drawings by Lena and many other joys . One drawing was drawn especially for me. How expensive all this is. Thank you, Lenochka. Your gift is unforgettable. I have already given your drawings, postcards, cards (Lena sent me two more decks of cards) to my friend. And it was also such a pleasant surprise. She talked about working with him, shared the subtleties. So all your work has already moved on. My friends in our Yaroslavl know them too.

Don't miss the chance to receive such cards, drawings as a gift, or order them from Lena. I myself love both receiving and giving gifts just for the soul, gifts that cannot be bought at every step, which are selected with love.

And at home I already have a corner with Lena’s gifts. So nice. And when something is wrong in my mood, I come up, re-read the descriptions of the drawings, panels, and a completely different state comes inside.

Russian autumn in the works of Isaac Levitan