Self-Agency

Home » Blog » Self-Agency

Self-Agency

September 6, 2024 | Jessie Nolasco-Sandino | 5 min. read

Pack Your Strategies for Campus Life

As we cherish these sun-soaked days, let’s dive into our theme for this month: Self-agency, or Personal-agency. Developing self-agency can profoundly enrich our lives by empowering us to shape our own destinies. While being on a healing journey may seem daunting and mastery challenging, we all possess the potential to cultivate this invaluable trait.

So, what exactly is self-agency?

It’s the inner strength to pursue our self-defined goals despite daunting challenges and struggle. It’s about overcoming obstacles that seem insurmountable and leveraging neuroscience insights that reveal our brain’s ability to predict actions before they happen.

So, how do we nurture self-agency within ourselves? 

As the article below suggests, we can:

  1. Control stimuli
  2. Associate selectively
  3. Move
  4. Position yourself as a learner
  5. Manage your emotions and beliefs
  6. Check your intuition
  7. Deliberate, then act

It’s a journey that requires effort. For instance, activities that distract us from reality hinder our development of self-agency. Since self-agency is about taking charge of our lives, mindfulness and presence are essential. Limiting excessive screen time, whether it’s binge-watching Netflix or endless scrolling on our phones, is one effective way to enhance our agency. Consider getting out in nature and being with all parts of you.

Developing self-agency isn’t easy, so if you catch yourself spending too much time on your phone occasionally, don’t be disheartened. Keep striving to improve your habits, and your future self will appreciate your efforts. Let’s embrace this month with a spirit of determination and empowerment, knowing that we have the capability to chart our own course and achieve our aspirations. Together, let’s unlock the limitless potential of self-agency!

Follow us for more wellness content!

More Blog Posts

Self-Transcendence

Home » Blog » Adjust Your Crown: Self-Transcendence

Self-Transcendence

September 7, 2024 | Jessie Nolasco-Sandino, LMSW | 4 min. read

The birds are chirping, the sun is scorching, and the weather is shifting over to autumn. During this season, the world seems to be changing, slowing down or picking up momentum, making it the perfect time to discuss self-transcendence.

Just as nature goes through its cycles and starts fresh each spring and summer, humans experience their own cycles of changes. These personal changes aren’t marked by calendars or seasons but by shifts in our mind and body states. Abraham Maslow beautifully captured this concept in his hierarchy of needs, which outlines the fundamental needs of every human being. As we move through these stages, we strive for self-transcendence, reaching beyond ourselves to find deeper meaning and fulfillment.

Yet it is not a strict hierarchy, and Maslow never intended it to be. His concept of human needs is more fluid, akin to the changing seasons. Just as summer can still carry the rain of spring, our needs and emotional states can fluctuate. This analogy aligns with Maslow’s understanding of human needs. Among these, one of the most essential is the need for self-fulfillment, which we achieve through self-actualization. As we operate in this mode, we can ultimately learn to self-transcend, arriving at the highest level of psychological development.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Self-Transcendence

So, how do we embrace and explore self-transcendence?  

The answer is practice. Building the skillset to self-transcend doesn’t require grand gestures; it starts with small steps, like facing a minor anxiety or taking ownership of a small mistake. Other times, it may be gradually addressing bigger challenges such as childhood traumas. The more practice is given to building self-awareness and self-acceptance, the closer we’ll be to becoming self-transcendent people who overcome life challenges and achieve life goals. The major takeaway from the concept of self-transcendence is fortifying our inner resources such as self-love to live prosperous and fulfilled lives. 

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/midlife-reimagined/202402/the-secrets-of-self-transcendent-people?mc_cid=74ce3b1592&mc_eid=859aa1cf45

Follow us for more wellness content!

More Blog Posts

Benefits of Positive Psychology

Home » Blog » Benefits of Positive Psychology

Benefits of Positive Psychology

June 19, 2024 | Jessie Nolasco-Sandino, LMSW | 7 min. read

8 Dimensions of Wellness

This month we’re taking a look at Positive Psychology and the benefits it creates.

According to Charles R. Snyder, a specialist in the field, “positive psychology does not suggest that we should dismiss the rest of psychology or that therapists should ignore the very real problems people face.” Instead, positive psychology works like a lens in which all other psychology can be seen through. It’s not about answering the questions about how to treat diseases or ailments, rather it seeks to answer questions about what makes life good, or worth living. Personally, it helps me inform my therapeutic practice and begin to shift my focus with my clients. What brings them Peace? What little things each day do they find joyful? What are they grateful for? By refocusing clients through this more ‘positive’ approach, we allow other psychological benefits – such as gratitude, self-compassion, health and wellness to flow through. 

Furthermore, much of positive psychology is backed by scientific study and a large amount of supportive research that shows its great success in practice, and subsequently, positive results.

Can we cultivate skills that have us arrive at Life Satisfaction? It is essential in Positive Psychology to focus on the ‘positive’ or the strengths even if we may have faults, weaknesses or problems. This does not mean it replaces the traditional Medical Model; rather it supplements and complements it with ensuring mental health professionals pair their work with a redirection towards one’s strengths instead of problems or illnesses. 

Positive psychology focuses on the positive events and influences in life, including:

  • Positive experiences such as happiness, joy, inspiration, and love
  • Positive states and traits such as gratitude, resilience, and compassion
  • Positive institutions such as applying positive principles within entire organizations and institutions

There’s plethora of benefits of Positive Psychology and the following findings support that claim: 

  • Oxytocin (i.e., love hormone) may provoke greater trust, empathy, and morality in humans, meaning that giving hugs or other shows of physical affection may give you a big boost to your overall well-being (and the wellbeing of others; Barraza & Zak, 2009);
  • Those who intentionally cultivate a positive mood to match the outward emotion they need to display (i.e., in emotional labor) benefit by more genuinely experiencing the positive mood. In other words, “putting on a happy face” won’t necessarily make you feel happier, but putting in a little bit of effort likely will (Scott & Barnes, 2011);
  • Happiness is contagious; those with happy friends and significant others are more likely to be happy in the future (Fowler & Christakis, 2008);
  • One of the benefits of practicing a positive psychological outlook is, to put it broadly, success! Not only does success make us happier, feeling happy and experiencing positive emotions actually increases our chances of success (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005);
  • An intention to express your authentic self and a sense of strong personal identity are linked to meaning, but not to happiness; if you are searching for meaning, try working on your practice of authenticity (Baumeister, et al., 2013).

As a field, positive psychology spends much of its time thinking about topics like character strengths, optimism, life satisfaction, happiness, wellbeing, gratitude, compassion (as well as self-compassion), self-esteem and self-confidencehope, and flourishing. Can you imagine what would happen if we spent as much time focusing on positive things in our life as we do the negative?

Follow us for more wellness content!

More Blog Posts

Flourishing

Home » Blog » The 8 Dimensions of Wellness

Flourishing

June 19, 2024 | Jessie Nolasco-Sandino, LMSW | 5 min. read

Today we’re also covering Flourishing, a benefit of Positive Psychology, the topic of the month. 

So I’d like to usher in some positivity for us by bringing our attention and arriving at flourishing. While flourishing encapsulates and incorporates various positive psychology concepts, it particularly highlights the transformative potential of adversity.

8 Dimensions of Wellness

As described in the article, Flourishing means that we can connect to a sense of meaning in our lives, experience positive emotions, build relationships with people and communities that matter to us, and recognize and appreciate our accomplishments even in challenging moments.

But, how do we cultivate Flourishing? The PERMA model developed by Seligman (2011) explains what contributes to a sense of flourishing. The five factors in this model are:

  • Positive emotions
  • Engagement
  • Relationships
  • Meaning
  • Accomplishments

Some examples of ways to cultivate Flourishing based on the PERMA model could be:

 

1. Establish a Gratitude Practice

Research shows that regularly practicing gratitude has the greatest impact. A simple gratitude exercise each day of less than five minutes could have great benefits in building positive emotions. For example, as you’re brushing your teeth in the morning and in the evening, use that time to reflect on what you’re grateful for in your life. Gratitude can be for something as big as your health or as small as a great cup of coffee.

2. Prioritize Acts of Kindness

Acts of kindness enhance well-being and connections with others in the community which builds healthy engagement. Doing multiple acts of kindness in a single day has a greater impact on your level of flourishing than spreading them throughout the week. So, if you’re experimenting with this practice, choose a specific day each week and vary your acts of kindness rather than doing the same act of kindness, to have a major effect.

3. Leverage your Signature Strengths

Using signature strengths help deepen our relationships with Self and engagement with others in our social circles. These are the strengths that feel most authentic to us, that we’re most excited to use, that energize rather than drain us, and that give us a sense of joy while we’re using them. The VIA Character Strengths assessment can help you identify your own.

4. Celebrate your Accomplishments

Celebrating accomplishments boosts our positive self-regard and emotions. When we pause to celebrate our accomplishments, it helps us actually feel them — what psychologists sometimes refer to as “savoring” — rather than simply checking them off a list of goals and moving forward.

Positive emotions, accomplishments, engagement, finding meaning, and a sense of belonging within one’s community and relationships emerge as key components of flourishing.

By navigating through challenging life moments and leveraging the lessons learned, individuals can cultivate resilience, grit, deepen their relationships, and find renewed purpose. This month, I encourage us to explore the pathways to flourishing, reflecting on our experiences and identifying opportunities for growth and improvement.

What Is Flourishing in Positive Psychology? (+8 Tips & PDF)

Follow us for more wellness content!

More Blog Posts

Unlock the Growth Mindset

Home » Blog » Unlock the Growth Mindset

Unlock the Growth Mindset

April 15, 2024 | Jessie Nolasco-Sandino, LMSW | 5 min. read

A growth mindset isn’t just a feel-good notion, or along the lines of toxic positivity! Mindset is a powerful tool for personal development and flourishing.

Think of it as the fertile soil where our aspirations grow into reality. When we adopt an open/positive mindset, we invite the possibility of growth and change into our lives. Instead of being held back by thoughts like “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t do this,” we learn to recognize these self-limiting beliefs and gently guide ourselves towards more empowering thoughts.

A growth mindset means that you believe your intelligence and talents can be developed over time, through effort and learning. A fixed mindset means that you believe intelligence is fixed and static; for example, if you’re not good at riding a bike, you might believe you’ll never be good at it. Psychologist Dweck, from Stanford University, states that in a growth mindset, “students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching, and persistence.”

Letting Go | OMHG Blog

Here are some tips on transitioning from a fixed to a growth mindset:

1. Acknowledge and embrace imperfections

Failing is a part of the process. Allowing yourself to fail and to move on from it will put you in a much better position to succeed down the line. Don’t let the little imperfections stall you from learning how to overcome them. Failure is actually an opportunity for learning and growth. Replacing the word “failing” with “learning” can be helpful, because you learn what strategies work or not work for you.

2. View challenges as opportunities

When we experience obstacles throughout life, as we inevitably do, it can be beneficial to look at it as an opportunity to improve on habits or behaviors we may not be so good at. Many times we may see it more as an inconvenience or a frustration, but part of a growth mindset is learning to embrace challenging moments.

3. Try different learning tactics

There are many different ways to learn. Part of the growth mindset is finding that learning style that best suits you and applying it to all sorts of different skills that you may want to undertake.

4. Stop seeking approval

Learning should be for its own sake and everything else secondary. If you rely on just approval from others as your metric for learning then you’re sacrificing your own growth. Everyone does seek some level of approval or recognition, but not allowing it to overpower the learning process.

5. Utilize feedback as a positive

You don’t have to use the term, “constructive criticism,” but you do have to believe that the concept of being positive leads to learning. Feedback is also associated with a pleasurable dopamine response and enhances a growth mindset.

6. Get out of your comfort zone

Being brave enough to leave your comfort zone can help foster a growth mindset. When faced with a challenge, try to choose the harder option that will allow you to grow.

7. Own your attitude

Once you develop a growth mindset, own it. Acknowledge yourself as someone who possesses a growth mentality and be proud to let it guide you throughout your career.

Lastly, a growth mindset also recognizes that setbacks are a necessary part of the learning process and allows people to ‘bounce back’ by increasing motivational effort. This kind of mindset sees ‘failings’ as temporary and changeable, and as such, a growth mindset is crucial for learning, resilience, motivation, and performance.

References:

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset: How what you think affects what you achieve (mindsethealth.com)

12 Advantages Of A Growth Mindset That Could Accelerate Your Career (forbes.com)

Follow us for more wellness content!

More Blog Posts