I have sometimes been asked the question: What defines psychological health? I believe that part of the answer lies in mental, or psychological flexibility--the ability to shift one's expectations, coping strategies and emotional responses depending on the situation at hand. In fact, this month's issue of Psychology Today touched on this very point in this interesting article about the characteristics of happy people.
The article points out that "the ability to shift mental states as circumstances demand...[is]...a fundamental aspect of well-being". Mental flexibility is the ability to recognize the particular demands of a situation, and being able to meet those demands in a satisfactory manner, without relying too heavily on just one way of being or coping. For example, we may sometimes find ourselves relying heavily on one or two "inherent" coping strategies to deal with certain situations, yet we may discover time and time again that these strategies may not be getting us the results that we want. Perhaps instead of repeating this pattern, we may want to notice what those strategies are, uncover when and how we first learned them, and learn to implement alternative ways of handling the situations at hand which may yield different results.
While shifting our "go to" behavioral and cognitive patterns may seem scary and overwhelming at first, the potential for growth in this experience is undeniable.
Furthermore, attempting to be more psychologically flexible comes with little risk, as the old ways of handling situations are never eradicated, they are simply better understood and perhaps expanded upon. The experience of trying alternative ways of thinking, acting and even feeling in various situations can be viewed as an opportunity to introduce more varied tools to our psychological tool kits which may better prepare us to handle whatever life throws our way.
The article points out that "the ability to shift mental states as circumstances demand...[is]...a fundamental aspect of well-being". Mental flexibility is the ability to recognize the particular demands of a situation, and being able to meet those demands in a satisfactory manner, without relying too heavily on just one way of being or coping. For example, we may sometimes find ourselves relying heavily on one or two "inherent" coping strategies to deal with certain situations, yet we may discover time and time again that these strategies may not be getting us the results that we want. Perhaps instead of repeating this pattern, we may want to notice what those strategies are, uncover when and how we first learned them, and learn to implement alternative ways of handling the situations at hand which may yield different results.
While shifting our "go to" behavioral and cognitive patterns may seem scary and overwhelming at first, the potential for growth in this experience is undeniable.
Furthermore, attempting to be more psychologically flexible comes with little risk, as the old ways of handling situations are never eradicated, they are simply better understood and perhaps expanded upon. The experience of trying alternative ways of thinking, acting and even feeling in various situations can be viewed as an opportunity to introduce more varied tools to our psychological tool kits which may better prepare us to handle whatever life throws our way.
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