When was the last time someone told you to cheer up or look on the bright side? Did these words irritate you? Being told to cheer up is probably the last things you want to hear when you are feeling down. It may even make you feel worse according to some psychologists. First you feel bad about the thing that is getting you down (e.g. lost your job, pet died) and then you may feel bad because you can’t seem to cheer yourself up.

Clinical Psychologist Barbara Held argues that American culture has become obsessed with being positive and optimistic, so obsessed that some individuals now have difficulty being in the company of someone who is in a negative mood.

I would argue it’s not just America that has gone slightly extreme and obsessed with positivity. Western culture in general has gone crazy about positivity. Being positive and upbeat is what seems to be expected, and if you’re not that, then there may be something wrong with you. You may be “defective”.

Norem and her research team performed several experiments where they made defensive pessimists think like strategic optimists by raising their expectations, stopping them from mentally rehearsing possible outcomes, making them relax and cheer up (Norem & Illingworth, 2004, Norem & Illingworth, 1993, Spencer & Norem, 1996). The purpose of these experiments was to see if positive thinking and relaxation would lead to an improvement in defensive pessimists ability to function.

Interestingly, it was found that forcing defensive pessimists to think more like strategic optimists caused their performance to suffer. Norem (2001) concluded that defensive pessimism is a strategy that helps anxious individuals to confront and work through their anxious thoughts rather than deny them. Ultimately, this research on defensive pessimists illustrates that the positive thinking may do some individuals a disservice by causing their performance to suffer. Subsequently, these individuals may end up feeling worse about themselves.

So how can you tell if positive thinking may not be for you when performing difficulty tasks (e.g. preparing for a talk or a big project)? First of all, you could take Julie Norem’s simple questionnaire to workout if you are a defensive pessimist. It will take you less than a minute to do.

Ultimately, I believe both positive and negative thinking and experiences have their place and a balance of the two is needed in order to live a healthy, fulfilling life. After all, if you never confront stressful situations, how can you ever expect to grow and develop? How can you fully appreciate the wonderful experiences you have? As the famous saying goes ‘Without the bitter baby, the sweet ain’t as sweet’.

References

Held, B.S. (2002). The tyranny of the positive attitude in America: observation and speculation. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(9), 965-992

Norem, J.K. (2001). The positive power of negative thinking. Cambridge: Basic Books

Norem, J.K. & Illingworth, K.S.S. (2004). Mood and performance among defensive pessimists and strategic optimists. Journal of Research in Personality, 38, 351-366

Norem, J.K. & Illingworth, K.S.S. (1993). Strategy-dependant effects of reflecting on self and tasks: Some implications of optimism and defensive pessimism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(4), 822-835

Spencer, S.M., & Norem, J.K. (1996). Reflection and distraction: Defensive pessimism, strategic optimism, and performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(4), 354-365

It’s school holiday time. This means a break from running school workshops, but a pile of journal articles to read, an essay to write and an ethics application form to fill in.

Even though I give talks on study skills, I’m no different from any other student. With friends on facebook and msn, I struggle to stay focused and concentrate on the work that needs to be done.

Often it seems so much easier to ignore the pile of articles that I need to read and just pretend that they don’t exist. The only problem is that eventually all that work starts to build up and as the deadlines loom closer, it gets harder and harder to ignore the work. You begin to feel stressed. My aunty, Lidia Genovese (a clinical and counseling psychologist), told me recently ‘Stress makes you stupid Jane’.

She’s right. I can’t think properly when I get stressed. I bet you can’t either. So how can we stay focused on our work so we don’t end up stressed out and unable to do any work?

Below are 5 simple strategies you may like to test out.

1. Get rid of distractions
Have you ever tried to research or write an assignment on your computer with your email, msn or facebook open? How much did you get done? Speaking from my own personal experience, next to nothing got done. When it’s time to study, get rid of anything that may distract you (e.g. television, radio, email, chat programs and phone). Working in a clean environment will also help, as your mind will be clearer and less easily distracted by papers, rubbish, etc.

2. Motivate yourself
Ask yourself, why are you doing this study/work? What is it leading to? What interests you about the topic? How can learning this information help you to become a better person? For me, doing my honours project (on climate change and the law) will make a difference to society. It will also open up opportunities of doing a phD or becoming a psychologist. Reminding myself of these things can help get me into a focused and motivated state.

3. Move your body
If you’ve been sitting at your desk for more than 45 minutes, it’s time to get up and move your body (shake your legs, do some stretches, etc.). Often we find it hard to concentrate on our work because of a lack of blood flow.

4. Don’t eat so much
It’s virtually impossible for me to study after I’ve eaten a heavy meal. I feel tired, my senses are dulled and I usually need a power nap. If you want your mind to be sharp and clear for a study/work session, eat a light meal (free of artificial flavours and colourings).

5. Visualise
What would you feel good about doing today? Take a minute or two to visualise what you would like to achieve in your study/work session. Test it out and see if it makes a difference for you.

“You can improve your memory by 500% OR MORE!” and “Switch on your mega memory” are some of the quirky phrases written on Kevin Trudeau’s Mega Memory program package. My dad bought me this expensive package when I was 10 years old after watching Mr Trudeau on late night TV wow an audience with his ‘photographic memory’. Now, at 24 years of age, I can’t help but feel a little cynical/skeptical as I revisit the Mega Memory program knowing that Mr Trudeau has recently released a book called ‘The weight loss cure’.

Did I ever get a photographic memory from doing Mega Memory as a child? I’m afraid not. Perhaps a better question to ask is, did the program help me to improve my memory? You bet. Let’s face it, there was nothing new or particularly special about the information contained in Mega Memory. All Mr Trudeau did was package a bunch of memory techniques (that have been around for well over a century) nicely together. More importantly and impressively, he managed to get millions of people (my dad and I included) excited about learning more about the human mind and memory. He sparked curiosity in us and forced us to think about how far we could push ourselves mentally and what was possible. To be engaged in this kind of conversation as a child was priceless.

I have to hand it to Mr Trudeau, he knew a thing or two about effective learning. In lesson 1 of his program he sets out some really smart ‘ground rules’ for studying his program. These are:

Take a 10 minute break between lessons

No heavy eating before going through a lesson

No alcohol or drugs before going through a lesson

No sugar or white flour before going through a lesson

Most of us know the effect of eating too much sugar or a greasy, heavy meal before studying or working - we can become ineffective, lack concentration, have a poor memory, feel agitated, etc. Mr Trudeau’s ground rules do not and should not be limited to studying memory techniques, but applied to all areas of our lives.

He also knew about the importance of taking baby steps to slowly build confidence. One of the first memory techniques his program teaches is the peg-word mnemonic. In my opinion, it is the simplest memory technique to learn (it takes about 5 minutes to learn). I often teach students this technique in workshops for several reasons. Firstly, it helps them to memorise lists of information really easily and quickly. Secondly, it shows students how they learn information best and thirdly, it builds their confidence. Once they realise ‘Hey, this actually works! I can do this!’, they are more open to learning about other strategies that will make a difference to their studies and life.

I don’t know if I ever did improve my memory by ‘500%’. In fact, it doesn’t matter at all if I did or didn’t. As skeptical as I am of smooth, charismatic salesmen like Kevin Trudeau, I have to say that his product (Mega Memory) contained some good ideas and techniques that did inspire me as a child and continue to inspire me.

My mind is like my car. Some days I fill it up with the right fuel, keep it organised and drive it below the speed limit. But once in a while, I drive it around in a rush, get flashed by a multinova, can’t be bothered filling it up with petrol and mess begins to accumulate inside.

When I’m not being a responsible driver and/or looking after my car, life never seems to work as well. Similarly, when I’m not looking after my mind by eating the right foods that will fuel it, life especially doesn’t work.

For years I ate greasy foods on a regular basis. One night my family and I would have McDonalds, a few days later I would have Hungry Jacks for lunch and when I got tired of these fast food places, I made my way to the local fish and chip shop. It probably won’t surprise you that feeling sluggish and having poor concentration was the norm for me throughout my days at primary and high school. I only realised how abnormal this feeling was when I finally got sick of eating greasy food, started exercising regularly and switched over to a healthier, more natural diet.

Friend and University Professor Dr Peter Dingle says,

“A healthy diet can enhance your mental acuity and reduce or prevent brain decline. A functioning brain relies on healthy building blocks and a healthy fuel source. As a result, good nutrition and exercise are critical for a good memory”

So what are these “healthy fuel sources” Dr Dingle says we should be eating? Below is a list of some of them.

Plums

Oranges

Red Grapes

Blueberries , Blackberries , Cranberries , Strawberries , Raspberries

Onions

Brussels sprouts, Alfalfa sprouts

Broccoli

Cherries

Dairy products

Wheat Germ

Whole grains

Carrots

Leafy Greens

Nuts and Seeds

Corn

Potato

Public speaker/nutritionist Helen Frost says simply in her public talks that we have two basic groups of foods - live foods and dead foods. Live foods are the most natural foods (i.e. anything grown on a tree or from the ground) and these make our bodies feel happy and strong. Whereas dead foods are those that have been heavily processed and these result in sad, degenerated bodies over time. When we go shopping for groceries we should always consider selecting live foods (that’s fruits and vegetables) over dead foods (i.e. microwave dinners, frozen pizzas, white bread).

Below are some frequently asked questions on diet/nutrition by students

How many vegetables and fruits should I be having each day?
5 - 9 cups (predominantly of vegetables).

What are the best drinks to have?
Water, green tea, apple juice (with no added sugar) and herbal tea. Avoid soft drinks. Cans of soft drink contain on average 11 teaspoons of sugar, caffeine, acid, artificial colours, and preservatives (all of these ingredients are a recipe for disaster if you are going to study or take a test) and take 3 km of walking to burn off! Students should be sipping on water every 20 minutes to keep their brains hydrated. Often when we have trouble studying, it is because we simply need some water.

I heard fish is really good for you. Why?
Certain types of fish (i.e. salmon, sardines, cod and tuna) contain a fatty acid called omega 3. Studies have found omega 3 helps students to concentrate, memorise information better and combat fatigue.

I don’t like fish. What else can I eat to improve my memory and concentration? Walnuts, cabbage, broccoli, strawberries and raspberries are all excellent sources of omega 3.

Is it ok for me to drink tea or coffee when I am studying for exams?
I try to avoid drinking tea and coffee at all costs and encourage other students to do the same. Tea and coffee contain caffeine which is a stimulant drug that is likely to increase your anxiety levels and may induce insomnia. You don’t want to feel tired and stressed out studying for exams. This will result in your brain having difficulty processing and recalling information.

What about energy drinks?
These drinks are no different to drinking a strong cup of coffee. Avoid them and you’ll feel better for it.

I’m not a fan of Kentucky fried chicken but I admire the man behind all that greasy chicken. Colonel Sanders was a master goal setter and never lost sight of his vision.

They say the Colonel was 65 years old when he received his first pension cheque in the mail. He took one look at it, saw that it was for $105 and felt angry. He had to come up with a way of earning some extra money. Over the years he had been perfecting a chicken recipe that friends and family couldn’t resist. He thought ‘I can work with this!’ He got in his old car, started to drive around America and approached different restaurant owners about his chicken recipe. Colonel Sander’s idea was that he would sell his chicken to the restaurant owners and receive a percentage of the profits. You can imagine that these owners took one look at the old man and told him ‘no thanks’.

Did this stop the Colonel? No, he kept driving around America approaching restaurant owners for 2 years! After 1009 rejections the Colonel finally heard his first ‘yes’. Someone had finally agreed to take his chicken on board.

This story makes me think about how many of us (particularly myself) can be in life in the face of setbacks. One, two or three ‘no’ responses and everything suddenly starts to seem all too hard. ‘Do I have what it takes?’, ‘Is this a stupid idea?’ and ‘Maybe I should try something else?’ are some of the thoughts that race through my mind.

So, how can we harvest some of the Colonel Sanders spirit within us? How can we remain strong in the face of setbacks and the word ‘no’?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Don’t make it mean anything: Often when someone says no to us or something doesn’t go our way, we take it personally and make it mean something. We create stories and reasons for why certain things happened the way they did. ‘I did poorly on that test because I’m stupid’ or ‘They said no because they don’t like me’. These stories that we create about why things have occurred often aren’t the truth, don’t serve us and can be unhelpful. Acknowledge the story that you have created and don’t let it distract you from your original intention or goal.

2. Focus on the positive: A school teacher once said to me ‘If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re probably not learning much’. Let’s face it, if you never attempt anything then you’ll never make a mistake, but you’ll probably never attain your goals! Making mistakes along the way and experiencing setbacks is all part of the process of attaining your goals. Setbacks provide us with feedback, opportunities to reassess things and readjust our behaviours. They also allow us to grow.

3. Have patience: I created a presentation really close to my heart earlier this year (Global warming: Too hot to handle?) and set a goal of presenting it to over 1000 students by the end of the year. I poured my heart and soul into creating it and expected dozens of teachers to invite me to their schools. The opposite happened. I ended up speaking to a science teacher who was a climate change skeptic and I was left feeling disheartened, naive and nearly gave up on my vision of educating and inspiring young people to take action. Luckily, friends and family encouraged me to be patient and stick with it, and it wasn’t long before I was delivering my talk to hundreds of students in high schools.

Even though I will probably never eat the Colonel’s chicken, I have to admit that I admire the man for his courage and determination. His story sends an important message to us all - never, ever give up on your dreams.

My high school chemistry teacher once said to me with a serious look on his face ‘Miss Genovese, if you’re not careful you’ll have a stress induced heart attack’. I was 16 at the time and thought relaxation was for lazy people who spent their lives meditating in caves in far away places.

As a teenager feeling stressed out was the norm for me, which was a problem. On several occasions my mind would go blank in test situations and as a result, I ended up failing those tests.

It wasn’t until I started studying Psychology at university that I realised that I could actually do something about my high stress levels. Below are 3 simple ways that have helped me to relax over the years.

1. Breathe

Often when we feel stressed or nervous (e.g. giving a presentation before the class or taking a test) our breathing becomes faster and shallower. We often notice ourselves breathing fast and may think ‘woah, I’m so nervous!’ and this may cause us to stress us out even more! One way we can change this is to consciously make an effort to slow down our breathing. I usually spend 2-3 minutes focusing on breathing deeply in and out for 6 seconds to start with and then for 3 seconds. This exercise will help you to feel more in control of your body and can slow down and clarify your thoughts. Students have even told me that doing this breathing exercise before important sports games makes a difference to their performance.

2. Laugh

Try to laugh and feel stressed at the same time. Can you do it? I bet $100 that you can’t. There is so much truth to the saying ‘Laughter is the best medicine’. 10 years ago Dr Kataria (inventor of laughter yoga) noticed that his patients who laughed more regularly appeared to have better immune systems, heal faster and appeared to be calmer than patients who did not laugh as much. The reason for this is that laughter releases endorphins, which is a chemical that gives you a natural high. So if you’re feeling stressed out, catch up with a friend who makes you laugh or watch a comedy show. If you can’t do that, force yourself to laugh. Say out loud ‘HA HA HA HA HA’ (I don’t recommend you do this in public) because the brain doesn’t know the difference between a fake laugh and a real one. In a nutshell, you can trick your brain into releasing those feel good, happy chemicals (endorphins).

3. Exercise

When I walked into my university gym six years ago there was a sign on the wall that said “The question is not - can I afford to do this? The question is - can I afford not to do this?” Studying law for me was not easy and going to the gym after every lecture was the main reason I stuck with the degree. As an 18 year old attending lectures on contract and criminal law I felt like the lecturers were speaking a foreign language. I did not understand the legal jargon that was being used and this was upsetting for me. After every lecture I would be telling myself “I can’t do it. It’s just too hard. Perhaps I’m not cut out for this” and somehow in my helpless state, I’d get myself to the gym. After a one hour session of cardio and strength training I was a different person. I felt clearer, less stressed and just knew I had to break things down, use my legal dictionary more often and take things one step at a time.

So there you go, 3 simple strategies to help you stress less. What works for me, may or may not work for you. You won’t know unless you give them a good shot (test them out for 30 days). If you know of any ways that help you to relax and decrease your stress levels I’d love to hear about them.

At the beginning of every school year, I would tell myself “This year is going to be different. Assignments in on time, great marks, participating in lots of activities and to top it off, I’m going to be more organised” I’d feel motivated with a positive outlook, but it wasn’t long before the work started to pile up, the average marks started rolling in and I’d think “I’m tired of this. I just want to get through and pass all my subjects”. I decided that I wasn’t one of “those” people – the motivated, smart ones.

My high school year coordinator hired motivational speakers to come in and tell us how we could fulfill all our dreams, overcome obstacles, see the cup as half full rather than half empty, etc. But there was a problem with this. The problem was –

1. I didn’t believe and/or couldn’t relate to what the motivational speakers were saying;
2. I’d feel less motivated after the talk than before; or
3. The motivation would only last for a day or two before it was gone.

I finished high school and went on to spend thousands of dollars listening to motivational speakers and studied 6 years of psychology at university. From these experiences, I’ve come to the following realisation -

You don’t need to be motivated to achieve success and experience pleasure from your studies and in life. In fact, you and I may never be super motivated like Tony Robbins and that’s ok. Knowing this, we should go and do the things we want to do, whether we feel motivated or not.

There is a myth that you need to change your mood before you can change your behaviour. Behavioural Psychology has dispelled this idea time and time again by showing us that if we simply become more active in our lives, then we will feel better and think more positively. Basically, you can become more motivated by taking action and engaging in new, positive experiences.

Exercise has helped me to stay positive about studying and life. One study found that when a group of people suffering from mild to moderate depression exercised (i.e. strength training, running or walking) for at least 20 to 60 minutes 3 times a week, they were significantly less depressed 5 weeks later. The benefits were maintained for these participants as long as they kept on exercising. If people diagnosed with depression can experience such amazing results from becoming active, imagine what is possible for people who don’t suffer from depression?

But the question arises ‘what if you’re so unmotivated that you can’t even get to the gym or start an assignment?’

Here are some strategies that have been suggested to help you overcome these problems–

1. Don’t eat the elephant all at once: How would you eat an elephant (if you had to)? One bite at a time. Starting a new behaviour is a difficult task and your success will be maximised if you’re able to break down the task into manageable components

2. Understand the benefits: The positive benefits of participating in the activity (e.g. exercising or completing an assignment) must be fully considered. Often people aren’t motivated because they’re uninformed. Psychologists often ask unmotivated clients to identify all the benefits of engaging in a certain behaviour. If the client’s list of benefits starts to reveal many reasons, then it is likely that they will be more motivated to take action.

3. Treat it like an experiment: Put aside your judgements about the activity and try as an experiment engaging in the activity regardless of the way you feel.

References

Prochaska, J. (2001). How do people change, and how can we change to help more people? In M. Hubble, B. Duncan, & S. Miller, S. (Eds). The Heart and Soul of Change. Washington: American Psychologial Association

Flora, S. & Wallach, M.A. (2004). The power of reinforcement. State of University of New York Press.

How would you feel if you got 1 out of 20 (5%) for a test or exam? Upset? Angry? Disappointed? This happened to me 6 years ago for my first open book test for law at university. Still to this day I can remember the awkward feeling of taking the test, flipping through my books wildly trying to find answers to the questions in front of me and having no idea what I was doing.

I knew that I didn’t get 5% because I was stupid. Walking out of that test I knew what was missing was an effective way to study. You see, I had managed to get good marks in high school by rote learning (spending hours and hours reading my text books and notes, and being able to repeat it like a parrot). But I never really understood what I was learning, which could explain why I didn’t really enjoy my subjects and graduating from high school was such a relief!

All of that changed when I learnt how to mind map.

For my next test for law (they gave me a second chance), all that I brought in with me was a bunch of simple mind maps. I remember feeling confident and in control doing that test. I got my test paper back and my score had jumped from 1 out of 20 to 15 out of 20. I’m now in my final semester of law, and I can honestly say that I don’t think I’d be here if it wasn’t for my mind maps.

Why do mind maps work so well as a study tool? They engage you in whole brain thinking and allow you to see the big picture (how all the different ideas are to connected to one another). I find that they also help me to clarify my thoughts, simplify complex ideas, memorise information and allow me to be creative so I don’t get as bored as easily.

How can you mind map? Below is a step by step process on how you can create a mindmap. The example used is preparing an event (i.e. school ball), but you could mindmap anything else (e.g. subjects).

Step 1: Grab some coloured pens/pencils, a blank piece of paper and turn it sideways. In the centre of the page draw the first image that comes to mind on the topic you are mindmapping. Label the image.

Step 2: Branch off from your central image and create one of your main ideas (think of each branch as being like a chapter in a book). Label the branch. You can also draw a picture for it.

Step 3: From your main branches draw some sub-branches and from those sub-branches you can draw even more branches. What you are beginning to do is create associations between ideas.

Step 4: Draw pictures for each branch or for as many branches as possible. Make each picture as absurd, funny and/or exaggerated as possible. The reason for this is that we think in pictures and remember vivid, exaggerated images more easily.

Step 5: Draw another main branch but this time use a different colour. Colour helps to seperate out different ideas and keeps your mind stimulated). Draw sub-branches and pictures. If you get bored at any stage, move on and create another branch.

Stage 6: Keep repeating the above process (different colours, main branch, sub-branches and absurd pictures). Make sure each branch is curved and not a straight line. The brain is more stimulated by curved lines.

Step 7: Voila! You have created a mind map. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a work of art. Allow yourself to be as messy and creative as you like. It doesn’t matter if other people can’t understand your mind map. You just need to be able to.

If you’d like to see how mind maps have been used to simplify complex topics such as global warming, click here.