Do those “noise canceling” headphones really work? – SCN Encourager

It all depends on where the banging and clanging is coming from.

And not all noise is external.

Sometimes I forget this.

As all too often in my haste to manage the growing “communications clutter,” I totally gloss over the fact that much of the noise I battle is of my own making.

Rats! 

It would’ve been nice to have someone else to blame.

What got me thinking about this was a “New Year’s” related article that recommended devoting more time in 2015 to consider opposing or contrasting perspectives.

I tried this out on Monday, when I wrote about the deep and wide chasm between working on new daily habits or waiting for my “big break” to pop up.

Apparently, there’s a lot to be learned from opposites… even if they don’t always result in the predictable attraction.

So, book it.

2015 is going to be a banner year for “this or that” kind of thinking.

Now, back to the topic of noise… and how the most damaging variety is seldom external.

In fact, in keeping with today’s trendy flipperoo, many psychologists now say that our own “self talk” is the type of noise that hurts us the most.

They will argue that WORRY is about the loudest, most detrimental “inside noise” affecting us.

Shawn Achor is a Harvard-trained researcher who wrote the book Before Happiness.

He suggests “flip-flopping” two simple words whenever you want to nudge your feelings from worry to contentment.

He says to swap out certain thoughts containing COULD, to differently thoughts containing the word ACTUALLY.

Huh?

Achor reports that people who make it a daily habit (dang it!) to replace their thoughts about all of the “horrible things that COULD happen” with thoughts about all of the “good things that are ACTUALLY happening” are generally happier and more fun to be around.

I’m convinced this advice has merit.

I’m ACTUALLY writing to you to pass on this information – and I feel happier already!

I don’t know about the becoming “more fun to be around” part, though.

That COULD be too much of a stretch.

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