What is Psychological Flexibility?
Psychological flexibility simply means acting on longer
term values rather than short term impulses.
Basing your actions and decision making on deeper values
that we carry growing up from many phases in our life rather than a shallower
level of our being like a strong urge called for by a present moment. It is
considered a fundamental aspect of psychological health.
Unlike long term values, short term ones are an impulse
which are a sudden strong and unreflective urge or desire to act. Lashing out
is an example of an impulse. Most impulses are dominated by an extreme emotion
or thoughts that someone is feeling. These sudden bursts tend to result
regrets. Psychological flexibility is breaking out of these impulses.
That is why thoughts and emotions tend to become unreliable
indicators of long term values. When you trust your thoughts and emotions to a
great degree and act based on them, you can often overlook a number of things.
These are the more important, sustained patterns of actions which bring true
meaning, vitality, and richness to your lives.
Psychological flexibility represents the acceptance and
commitment therapy (ACT) model of health.
According to New Harbinger Applications, psychological
flexibility is coming in full contact with painful experiences and
with uniquely chosen values while consciously choosing to act and
engage in a meaningful
life.
In this concept you do not try to escape or shut out painful
experiences but instead, you restructure your perception towards it with the
aim to live a meaningful life.
Here are 5 ways to achieve psychological flexibility:
Awareness and acceptance
-Recognize values you hold dear and drive you
more in decision making. Do not rely on your emotions and thoughts that urge
you to act outright.
-Accepting one’s emotional experience can be
described as the process of learning to experience the range of human emotions
with a kind, open, and accepting perspective.
-Take a moment to internalize a present situation and act
accordingly based on what the situation affords, changing your behavior in the
service of chosen values.
-Slowly stop your impulsive responses and learn to take a
moment and act accordingly to what the situation truly needs.
Instead of lashing out to an offensive conversation with
your friend, take a moment to breathe and respond calmly. In the end, you’ve
avoided fanning the flame and welcomed your friend’s opinion. You don’t have to
agree with his opinion, but that doesn’t mean you should violently react
either.
Find ways to stimulate your mind
Enrich your hobbies. Find time to enjoy activities that
helps you relax and enjoy. It need not to be something complicated, you can
learn new words or historical facts.
Some trivia to memory is great mental exercise
that activates parts of the brain’s essential structures.
Do things differently
Do things that deviate from your daily routine. For example,
if you always have sunny-side- up eggs, try to mix it up a bit and have
scrambled eggs for the day. If you always hold your cup with your right hand,
hold it on the left. If you like to sit on a particular chair every breakfast,
try sitting in a different seat.
By mixing simple things up like this you recruit pathways in
the brain that are not as active as the ones used by the default behavior of
your routines, thus providing another flexibility stimulus for your mind and
strengthen your psychological flexibility.
Welcome new ideas
Instead of doing the ‘same old, same old’, do something different
for a change. Wear something different than your usual choice of
wardrobe. Hang out in a new place rather than your usual hang out places.
Learn new hobbies. Instead of your drawing pass time, try
new drawing techniques, painting, or writing. If you like to jog every morning,
take a different route and appreciate the sceneries you pass by.
This, too, activates and stimulates the brain in novel ways
which helps keep the mind and psyche balanced and nimble.
Get out of your comfort zone
In general, people have a natural tendency to maintain
familiar behavioral patterns and habits. But just like how your muscles have to
push and pull against resistance to exercise and become resilient, your
‘brain’s muscles’ must encounter resistance to benefit it too.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. Try to challenge yourself
with mildly stressful activities on a regular basis. Get out there and learn
new hobbies and skills.
Begin a new exercise routine. Meet new people. Do a harder
crossword puzzle than usual. Read a book with a different genre. Start a
conversation instead of waiting for someone to talk to you. Learn to assert
yourself rather than say nothing when something bothers you.
These simple, but not always easy, suggestions help
most people improve their behavioral and psychological flexibility leading them
to a more mentally supple and comfortable life. Just remember that it’s okay to
work in your own pace.
Originally posted in aly.palawanblogger.com
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