The Science of Positivity: Stop Negative Thought Patterns by Changing Your Brain Chemistry

by Loretta Graziano Breuning

Overview

Learn the scientific benefits of positivism!

Sometimes it's easiest to look for the worst in every situation—our brains have evolved to scan for problems in order to help avoid them. But you can transcend this natural negativity—if you know how.

The Science of Positivity teaches you how cynical thought habits are formed, and how you can rewire yourself to go beyond them. Neurochemical expert Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD, empowers you to transcend negativity by creating new thought habits. You'll learn simple, practical actions you can take to shift your thinking to a way that causes your brain to reward optimism with the release of happy chemicals. You can even permanently replace cynical thought patterns with realistic and optimistic thoughts.

In just minutes a day for six weeks, you will build new pathways to see the world in new ways. Frustration is an inevitable part of life, but rather than using cynicism to manage frustration, you can rewire your brain to get beyond it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440599651
Publisher:	Adams Media
Publication date:	12/02/2016
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	421,083
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Loretta Breuning, PhD, is the author of Habits of a Happy Brain and The Science of Positivity. She is the Founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and Professor Emerita of Management at California State University, East Bay. As a teacher and mom, she was not convinced by prevailing theories of human motivation. Then she learned about the brain chemistry we share with earlier mammals, and everything made sense. She began creating resources that have helped thousands of people manage their inner mammal. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, Real Simple, Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, and on Forbes, NPR, and numerous podcasts. Her work has been translated into Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, French, Dutch, Portuguese, and Turkish.

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Chapter 1 Why Your Brain Goes Negative 13

Negativity feels good to your old circuits, but you can build new, positive circuits.

Chapter 2 The Positivity of Escaping Threats 33

Escaping a threat feels good, which motivates you to repeat behaviors that, create the good feeling.

Chapter 3 The Positivity of Predictability 65

The joy of dopamine is released when the world meets or exceeds your expectations.

Chapter 4 The Positivity of Social Trust 89

Safety in numbers feels good, but the brain makes careful decisions about when to release the good feeling of trust

Chapter 5 The Positivity of Getting Ahead 115

Why superiority feels satisfying.

Chapter 6 Build a PARE Habit 141

Use Personal Agency and Realistic Expectations to build a positive life.

Chapter 7 The Pathway to a Positive Brain 167

Train your brain to recognize positivity and embrace solutions.

Afterword 187

Appendix: Personal Agency in Books and Movies 189

Index 215

Editorial Reviews

Learn how cynical thought habits are formed and how to rewire yourself to go beyond them from neurochemical expert Loretta Graziano Breuning. This includes simple, practical actions you can take to shift your thinking to a new way, causing your brain to reward optimism with the release of happy chemicals. In just minutes a day for six-weeks, you will build new pathways to see the world in new ways.

Elevated Existence