As I talk to brain tumor and
stroke victims and their caretakers, I wrestle with how the whole idea of “positivity.”
It’s one thing to be positive in your daily life if you only have to juggle a
demanding boss, several kids, a crushing mortgage/rent payment and an uncertain economy.
It’s another thing to do all
that with a brain tumor, stroke or similarly horrifying brain injury or
illness.
Somehow telling the brain
tumor victim I met with last week, who still isn’t out of the hospital after a
ten (10!) hour operation, that everything is going to be just ducky makes it
sound like I'm the one on heavy meds (actually I am on meds, just not his supper-strong
meds).
This is where “Happify”
comes in: http://my.happify.com/ As best I can tell, “Happify” is to improving your positive
feelings as Lumosity is to improving brain power.
More specifically, “Happify”
is a software program designed to make you happier, primarily (as best I can
tell) by making your remember the happy moments in your everyday life and
reminding you to savor them a bit. Of course this is a gross exaggeration and
probably grossly inaccurate.
The Happify site, just like
the Lumosity site, explains how all this is based on real science that they’ve
transformed into a learning tool. For example, Happify explains that “Happify's S.T.A.G.E. framework helps you build five key happiness skills:
Savor, Thank, Aspire, Give, and Empathize.” http://my.happify.com/hd/the-5-skills-that-will-increase-your-happiness/
Happily, you can access the basic program for free. And, of course, there’s also an upgraded more
powerful/penetrating/happier (?) version which costs buckaroos.
I like the idea, the little I know about the science and what I've read. So I’ve signed up and have started to do the daily exercises with the same tenacity that I tackle Lumosity.
I’ll give you updates.
John
PS – Is there an app for
this? Of course! And here’s a link to the NY Times review of their app: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/business/positive-thinking-with-a-little-help-from-your-phone.html
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