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Upward Spiral Refresher
Earlier this month I wrote about the Upward Spiral effect (link to full article below) - the quick version:
Positive emotions make you more neuro-flexible, a better problem solver, more creative, and build positive relationships
Upward spirals are when 2 or more actions result in a compounding increase in positive emotional experiences
Upward spirals work by helping someone be more sensitive to positive emotional experiences
Ok… neat... Why do I care?
Recall in that previous article, some people are able to take advantage of positive events more than others. It’s theorized that sensitivity allows them to “take advantage” of the good things that happen to feel good. So researchers call them vantage sensitivity (get it… cause they let you take advantage of the positive thing?) and anything that increases vantage sensitivity is called a vantage resource.
Priming an upward spiral would happen when someone intentional takes actions that could build up vantage resources, theoretically increasing vantage sensitivity.
Researchers are just starting to document the hormones related to this phenomena - studies like measuring the dopamine increase required for flow states or the serotonin sensitivity boost from moderate intensity exercise.
Priming Upward Spirals
All of this begs the question: how can you up your own vantage sensitivity?
It’s pretty likely that most people want to be more sensitive to the good stuff ~ to more easily feel joy, pleasure, humor, serendipity, or love. And for those not wanting more positive emotion for it’s own sake, they likely want the access to flow, creativity, problem solving, or any other number of benefits.
So how do you do it?
There are documented upward spirals involving mindfulness, attaining self-aligned goals, reframing/reappraisal and plenty more. But here’s an important detail not only about upward spirals, but about every aspect of the self-development journey:
NOT EVERYTHING WORKS FOR EVERYONE ALL THE TIME
(sorry to yell. I want to make sure the people in the back hear me.)
There are plenty of practitioners selling the idea that they have “the solution” - the magic process that anyone can use to achieve happiness and success.
But here’s the bold faced, honest truth: those people are full of it.
That’s because not everything is going to work for everyone. Some people will have trauma around a particular practice or not meet some yet-to-be-identified prerequisite. Others just won’t like the practice so they wont do it.
AND not everything works all the time. Some days you’ll be run down or sick or too busy or a million other things that come up that make a practice ineffective.
So what do we do?
We try different things to find what can work.
How I prime Upward Spirals with my clients:
When I work with a client on their wellbeing the first thing I want to do is make them more successful at changing. I want to up their neuroplasticity (ability for the brain and nervous system to change) and help them feel more-better as quickly as possible. To do that I typically suggest 3 practices that are likely to prime an upward spiral.
I call these the Power 3 - because they’re 3 powerful levers that even if one or even two don’t help, the third is likely to.
Upward Spiral Power 3:
20 minutes of moderate intensity movement 3+ times per week. Doesn’t matter what modality - just make sure you can still hold a conversation while you’re huffing and puffing. If you’re not breathing heavier than normal you’re not working hard enough; if you can’t carry on a conversation you’re working too hard. For all the reasons why go here:
Daily Gratitude Practice to prime positive emotional states of appreciation. If you struggle with gratitude practice you’ll want to have a listen here:
Daily Meditation preferably body scan or loving kindness. For the difference between those practices and their effects go here:
While there are other documented upward spirals, I’ve found these 3 are easy to learn, cover different systems of action, and most people have at least heard of them so they’re an easy sell.
While waxing poetic on upward spirals I was once told that if they were powerful then “where are all the super human happy people”. To which I responded that isn’t the goal. The goal is not to become a positivity superhero… that would probably be toxic anyway.
The goal is to have a pathway towards a more authentic, adaptable, resilient, and resourced self that’s able to thrive despite that challenges in the world.
And that’s something I think we all can use.
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