Talking to a friend recently about the necessity of being honest and acknowledging emotions. She was so thankful I didn't tell her that she just needed to choose to be happy, because you are supposed to just decide to be happy when you feel awful?

I want to bring this up because right off the bat I want to you to know that there are some pretty big myths I plan to dispel about being happy and being a positive person. My hope is that you will walk away realizing this is a way of being that is possible and even desired for us as Christians.

There are 3 people whose work I will be talking about today:

Martin Seligman - Director of Positive Psychology Center @ University of Pennsylvania

Tal Ben-Shahar - Taught a Pos Psych class at Harvard. 1st yr 8 students, 2nd yr 300, 3rd over 900

Shawn Achor - Associate prof. at Harvard. Now consults with businesses and schools around the world

http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2011X/None/ShawnAchor_2011X-480p.mp4

Let's focus on 2 talking points from the talk:

- external world is only predictive 10% long term happiness

- formula for success is backwards (work hard- success-happiness)

Definition of happiness ----
What is your potential?
(Rom 8:16-17)- the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: and if children then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if we suffer with him, that we may be glorified with him.

Putting this into the def of happiness: As we work toward our potential as inheritors with Christ we are supposed to be experiencing joy.
-- sounds strangely like a fruit of the spirit which bears witness

Happiness myth: Being happy does not mean blissful ignorance (this world is under the influence of the adversary)

"Painful emotions are as much a part of human nature as much as the law of gravity is part of physical nature - and yet we accept the latter and reject the former." -- Tal Ben-Shahar

- Do we allow ourselves to be human?

It's important to recognize the reality of emotion but understand that it is what we do with it that matters.

David/Paul/Elijah - experienced difficult emotions and expressed them openly

Our pathway for emotion is indiscriminate. If we cut off negative emotions we cut off our ability to experience the positive ones too.

- Recognize it, accept it, move forward (don't dwell)

Don't cope -- Resilience (3 mo) -- Post Traumatic growth (tough @1st then grow 1 yr later)

Don't cope -- Resilience (3 mo) -- Post Traumatic growth (tough @1st then grow 1 yr later)

Positive Geniuses: people who despite circumstances can always scan for the positive

---- story of trip down to FL

Human Brain- processes 40-60 bits/sec
- receive 11 million bits/sec (info. compression)

Information Theory: appear to have a greater capacity for unconscious processing - auto perform information compression makes practice and habit very important

Train your brain...

THANKFULLNESS
1 Chron 23:30 - Levites stand and thank God morning and evening

Col 3:15 - Thankfullness should be our state of being if the spirit of love rules our hearts

MEDITATION
Josh 1:8
Phil 4:8- whatsoever things pure/lovely
Psalms of David

RANDOM ACTS IF KINDESS
I Thess 5:11

Ultimately this is why our focus is so important:

The Bible is a tool for teaching how to live with joy/peace/kindness, rather than a book to knock us down.

The message is of the "Good News" not the message of doom. Yes, repentance is a major part of it, but it is not the whole point.

The point of the message is the Good News of the Kingdom which repentance leads to.

Where is our focus? We are told to be able to give an answer for the hope that lies within us but do we lead an example that will cause someone to asks us where our hope comes from?