Can you train luck?

Yes, you can! Last year, from a friend and fellow coach, I got the tip to exercise with ‘memory for happiness‘. Of course it is a cliché to always want to see the glass half full. But still? How much fun is it to emphasise the positive.

Memory for happiness

It really started to shape for me when I read the book ‘memory for happiness’ by Rick Hanson. In this he explains why we are always focused on things that don’t go well. It is the traditional instinct of the brain to always be aware of danger. In this time of relative security and prosperity, it’s much less necessary. But in saying that, it is always easier said than done. Our brain always automatically shoots straight into this survival mode. However, we feel happier if we can focus on that what is going well. From his studies and work experience as a Neuropsychologist and meditation teacher Rick Hanson developed a method to give more attention to positive, happy and enjoyable experiences. So easy and pleasant to do.

Train your own brain in 4 steps

And it turns out: we are able to train a relaxed attitude and recover our balance. In his book, Hanson reaches us the method of ‘HEAL’ to get evaluation and deepening of the good and positive in only 4 steps:
1. Have a positive experience: be aware of a positive, pleasant experience.
2. Enrich it: zoom in on that experience; involve all your senses and make it as rich as possible.
3. Absorb it: give yourself a moment to reflect on what you are experiencing and enjoy it intensely; taste the moment and let it really come to you. Relax in the experience.
4. Link positive and negative material: If you’re more experienced, you can connect this kind of positive experiences with negative experiences from the past. Let them co-exist in your attention. Give the positive one the most attention. That is how you release yourself from the black and white of the experiences.

Would you like to do this?

I was impressed by the method HEAL by Rick Hanson and wanted to do something with it. I now use this method in my coaching programs and practice with it on my meditation evenings. Every time again I’m surprised how fast people pick it up and learn to look more positively to their own lives. Participant Hans (41): “I now look on a very different level at myself. I feel more joyful, am much more active and more enterprising and get more compliments. My more positive look apparently asks for more positive responses too! “