I just finished up my summer semester as a freshman! While my brain definitely needs a break from the books, it feels stronger than ever before. I had the pleasure of taking Dan Lerner's class, The Science of Happiness, this summer. I had not much expectation for this class, but right away it became a 3 hour lecture I looked forward to twice a week. Throughout this course we had to read the book "UThrive: How to Succeed in College (and life)" by Dan Lerner and Alan Schlechter. I encourage you to pick up this book or download it on your kindle, because EVERYONE can learn something from this book. Long story short, I wanted to share one of the response papers I wrote during my studies in this class and how positive psychology is impacted and also used in the world of wellness and nutrition.
Have you followed a popular health trend lately or purchased a product with superior health claims? Maybe, there is a new activity that has convinced you in its powers of achieving greatness through wellness. Do they seemingly end up becoming too good to be true? With the help of many social media platforms, the wellness industry is booming these days. It's almost unavoidable to see advertisements and promoted content about health and wellness, especially when it pertains to nutrition. Being a competitive athlete myself, nutrition plays an important role in my performance as well as my health. With such an interest in the field of nutrition, I am currently studying to become a registered dietitian at NYU. I hope to help other athletes and members of our society achieve their best version of themselves. Positive psychology can help enhance healthy environments, social networks, and provide a positive understanding of wellness worldwide; including the role of a registered dietitian.
The Global Wellness Industry defines wellness as “the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health” (Neslon). It is important to understand that wellness is an active pursuit, there are actions, intentions, and choices involved. Many consumers today are investing and or spending income in wellness areas such as fitness, diet and nutrition, beauty and more. Although many struggle to meet personal goals, some are successful and feel accomplished. There are also people who successfully meet a wellness goal, or invest in a wellness strategy but it comes at the price of their happiness. Happiness and positive thoughts can lead to longevity and success when investing in wellness. While there are many avenues to embark on in the wellness industry whether it be a diet, a yoga class, or change in lifestyle, Dan Lerner, author of UThrive, reminds us that “its not as important to be beautiful as it is to feel it”(Lerner 41). Aspects and methods of positive psychology can help society pursue wellness while avoiding the dangers negative emotions; which are often linked to obesity, eating disorders, or other areas of one’s health. Ultimately the use of positive psychology when pursuing these actions and choices, can aid in a more productive and enjoyable wellness wellness journey or experience.
There are numerous “fad” diets, weight loss programs, and superfoods advertised by Wellness entrepreneurs and companies. However more often than not, these wellness choices lead to dead ends or are unsustainable. In the book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, it is stated that, “Losing weight is the most popular new years resolution year after year, diet after forsaken diet. In the long run dieters fail” (Baumeister, p214). Fad diets and promotions are advertised left and right to capitalize on the most popular new years resolution. The chapter “The Perfect Storm of Dieting” in Baumeister’s book, addresses the three rules to dieting; the first rule is to never diet. Diets are a restriction to ones life, and are ultimately unsustainable. As experienced by Oprah Winfrey, dieting results in a boom and bust cycle. It has been understood that once the body has experienced not getting enough to eat, like in a diet, the body reacts by fighting to keep all the pounds it has. Instead of going for a short term weight loss, using self control to make gradual changes will be more a more sustainable choice of wellness. One strategy to practice and utilize self control is setting small realistic goals. Setting impossible, far to reach goals will only hinder willpower and self regulation.
Another positive psychology strategy to use when trying to achieve a wellness goal, like weight loss, is positive reinforcement. Setting these small realistic goals require commitment and hard work. When these goals are achieved they can be positively reinforced by incentives. For example reaching a new time on your run if your goal was to increase your time by 30 seconds, or losing the ten pounds in one year are rewarded with new shoes or a fancy dinner. Often these rewards make one feel proud and accomplished. What is less common is positively reinforcing maintenance. If a rewards system is used to reach such a weight loss goal, it's wise to continue rewarding yourself in order to maintain your weight. Providing positive reinforcement for maintaining a wellness goal or activity can help retain that proud feeling and sense of accomplishment. Keeping up with your new running time, maintaining your new weight loss, or whatever it may be is also an achievement that should be acknowledged.
When it comes to wellness choices, actions, and intentions, it's common to experience difficulties. While a network of Friends and family can be helpful people in our lives, help from mental health professionals are often essential. Resilience is a dominate ability related to wellness; Lerner shares in his book that “Resilience can come from within, but it is also strengthened by the people around us” (Lerner 146). As described in chapter nine of Uthrive, wellness is largely about making changes or alterations to achieve a greater lifestyle. However the process of change isn’t necessarily a linear path. Professional help like a dietitian or therapist can help guide the process of change, because making a change to one’s lifestyle involves a lot of the brain. The willpower to continue, the optimism to achieve, the self-regulation to pursue, and the self gratitude held, are all examples of mental strength that can effect be effected at anytime. For example, willpower when trying to loose weight can be a very difficult challenge. One way that could positively help with willpower is by resisting total restriction. Total restriction to a diet can lead to a negative effect, something called the “what the Hell feeling”. If you are offered ice cream, rather than total restriction, “…telling yourself I can have this later operates in the mind a bit like having it now” (Baumeister 236) Later on you may have only one scoop of ice cream instead of two because you feel like you have already satisfied that craving earlier, or rather you may find later on the craving is no longer there and skip the ice cream all together. Ultimately it is far less stressful to say later rather than never.
The people directly in our lives play an important role in the the choices and actions we make. In life we are surrounded by and involved in many social networks. From family and friends, peers at school, teammates, coaches, all the way to influencers and celebrities. While we may not be connected with influencers and celebrities in person, we can still be connected via social media networks such as instagram. With a greater understanding about social networks from Nicholas Christakis’ TedTalk “The Hidden Influence of Social Networks”, it becomes clear that “who you surround yourself with can change your ideas of what an acceptable body size is”(Chistakis). If you have a friend who becomes obsessed with hot yoga and swears that you lose weight by going, you might want to start yoga. Or maybe you are trying to eat healthier but your friend instigates you to go out for fast food. Simply following a celebrity on instagram who has been paid to promote a juice cleanse that alludes many health benefits, can make one question their own nutrition and diet choices. These are all examples of active choices, pertaining to wellness that are influenced by social networks. Understandably, building networks with the wrong people can lead to negative perspectives on weight and health and how wellness is pursued. On the contrary, networks can be carriers of good ideas, understanding, and encouragers of positive and healthy wellness. Christakis emphasizes that the world needs more connections in order for us to understand that social networks are the carriers. A registered dietitian can be a great network connection who can be a carrier of good ideas and concepts for a healthy wellness lifestyle. They can help develop a plan that includes small realistic goals as well as provide ways to positive reinforce certain actions or achievements. When the willpower begins to fade or things become difficult, a registered dietitian is a great resource of professional help that can further promote positive psychology into one’s wellness journey.
As the Wellness Industry continues to evolve and spread into many areas of life, there are many ways that positive psychology can help aid an overall healthy experience. As I continue to study nutrition at NYU and go through my own experiences in life, I am aware that there is more involved to being a registered dietitian than just knowledge about nutrition. Positive psychology strategies will only enhance the journey I go through with a future client and the path they embark on or experience within the Wellness Industry. The social networks in one’s life can directly impact decisions, choices, and lifestyles. It has also been learned that the ones around us strengthen resilience. Like Christakis emphasized at the end of his Ted Talk, the more connections made in life, the more opportunities for people to see the positivity that is out there to being carried.
Works Cited
Christakis, Nicholas. The Hidden Influence of Social Networks. Feb. 2010, www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_the_hidden_influence_of_social_networks.
Lerner, Dan, and Alan Schlechter. U Thrive: How to Succeed in College (and Life). Little Brown Spark, 2017.
Nelson, Scott. “Council Post: Why The Wellness Business Is Booming (And How To Succeed In The Industry).” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 Oct. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2019/10/14/why-the-wellness-business-is-booming-and-how-to-succeed-in-the-industry/.
“The Perfect Storm of Dieting.” Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, Penguin Books, 2012, pp. 214–237.
“Willpower and Diet.” Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, Penguin Books, 2012, pp. 41–59.