DaveShearon

Living in a World of Possibilities

This picture grabbed my attention in an ad on a website.  It's from Wayfarer's Moon, an on-line cartoon.  I noticed it because it is archery and the arrow is drawn on the correct side of the bow and the character is using a correct form for drawing the string.  I see so much art with the arrow away from the archer (only correct for kyudo) and the archer "pinching" the string between thumb and index finger.  Putting the arrow on the side away from the archer would make the arrow spin off the rest and out to the side as the fingers roll on the string as it is drawn.  "Pinching" the string won't work at the draw weights of target bows, much less those for hunting or battle as in the fantasies that the art represents. 

Beyond my hobby interests, however, the picture reminds me that we live in an time more characterized by possibilities and less by threats than almost any time in human history in any culture.  Folks can make a living from skills in writing and arts, and even the gate-keeping function of published media has been breached, for good and ill.  Thus, the effect of positive emotions, thought patterns, and relationships in helping us take advantage of opportunities is multiplied by more and bigger opportunities.  Further, more individuals have a real chance to structure much of their "work" around their real strengths.  This is good, very, very good!

"If You're Going through Hell"

I'd love to develop a seminar on the positive psychology of country music.  It would be fun and easy!  Except, of course, for copyright  and licensing problems, which I suspect are virtually insurmountalbe for any reasonable investment of time, energy, and legal fees!

If I ever do this, one aspect I'll focus on is the role of positive psychology constructs in the face of adversity.  Many of the constructs -- Seligman's attributional style theory, Dweck's theories of intelligence, and Snyder's hope theory -- really come into play when we face adversity.  Perhaps the old saying should be revised to state, "When the going gets tough, the positive get going."  Or, even more accurately, the positive never slow down.  And, in that vein, I'd use Rodney Adkins' "If You're Going through Hell" as the musical interpretation.   If you haven't heard this song, you can listen to a clip in the Amazon widget above or try here.  (If you're a Firefly/Serenityfan, the video's a bonus.  If not, well, maybe you'll become one!) (If the link doesn't work, youtube's taken that video down.)  Here are the key lyrics:

Well you know those times
When you feel like there's a sign there on your back
Say's I don't mind if ya kick me
Seems like everybody has
Things go from bad to worse
You'd think they can't get worse than that
And then they do

You step off the straight and narrow
And you don't know where you are
Use the needle of your compass
To sew up your broken heart
Ask directions from a genie
In a bottle of Jim Beam
And she lies to You
That's when you learn the truth

If you're going through hell
Keep on going, Don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there

The title of this song comes from a Winston Churchill quote, "If you are going through hell, keep going."  Churchill certainly faced uncontrollable negative events, and he responded in positive way.  "Not me, not always, not everything" -- he didn't see himself or England as responsible, didn't think the causes of the conflict would always exist or that they would tarnish everything.  This is positive attributional style, a/k/a "optimism", from the work of Marty Seligman.  Churchill did not know exactly how England would win through, but he seems to have had confidence that they could figure it out.  This is Carol Dweck's incremental view of intelligence.  And, he clearly envisioned the goal of defeating the Nazi war machine, generated alternative pathways toward that end, and deemed himself and England capable of traversing those pathways, however rocky and winding they might be.  That's Rick Snyder's Hope Theory.

At bottom, that's the power of habitual positive thought patterns and the regular experience of positive emotions -- those habits work!  As Barb Fredrickson has shown, the survival value of positive emotions is in helping us broaden our behaviors and build connections with one another.  That "together" idea is another good reason for the muscial metaphor.  Solos are great, but we generally find the greatest music performed by groups.

What's your music for the positive?